The Representation of the European Commission in Spain organised, the 30th June and the 1st July 2005 in Madrid, in collaboration with the European Parliament, the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affaires and of Cooperation and other international organisations and associations - among which, the Charter of the Mediterranean and the Foundation of the Three Cultures - a working seminar concerning the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.
The meeting - that marks the first step of a wider programme of initiatives envisaged until next November and conceived for the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Barcelona Process -
has been organised into four working sessions.
The first session, devoted to “The new European Neighbourhood Policy”, gathered the Secretary
General of COPEAM, Mrs. Alessandra Paradisi, Spanish academic representatives and other personalities engaged into the development of the Euro-Mediterranean region, such as Mrs. Assia Bensalah, Co-President of the Group of Sages constituted by the former President of the E.C., Mr. Romano Prodi. The speech of Mrs. Paradisi has been founded on the necessity of re-launching the Barcelona Process through a completely different economic approach : «It’s not a matter of reflecting on the costs of the Partnership, but on the social price that we are paying because of the lack of this cooperation. It doesn’t cost much, this is the idea to be considered» she concluded. Her speech has been included into the final conclusions of the seminar.
During this meeting, the debate has dealt with important topics such as the perspectives of the European Neighbourhood Policy in the domains of political dialogue and cooperation within the social and cultural sectors, the perception of ENP by the Southern Mediterranean countries, the interaction
between ENP and EUROMED Partnership and their complementary aspects, the risks and opportunity of the European Neighbourhood Policy for the MPC (Mediterranean Partner Countries). The working sessions have been opened by Mrs. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Commissionaire in charge of External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy, who has addressed to participants a speech concerning «the Euro- Mediterranean institutional development and the regional cooperation».