CONFERENCES 2000

The Sixth "Mediterranean Dialogue Seminar"

PRESS COMMUNICATION

PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE ON MEDITERRANEAN SECURITY YIELDS LITTLE CONSENSUS

GENOVA - Discussions between NATO parliamentary and their counterparts from Southern Mediterranean countries over the past two days were overshadowed by the deleterious climate in the Middle East. There was no meeting of minds between the legislators and experts from Arab countries and Israel brought together by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly for its annual "Mediterranean Dialogue Seminar", held in Genova on 30 November and 1 December. NATO legislators got the measure of the gap between the parties when Mahdi Abdul Hadi, a Palestinian expert, asserted unambiguously that the only solution left was a geographical "clean divorce" separating Israelis and Palestinians. Others, however, questioned the feasibility of the proposal, pointing in particular to Palestinian economic dependence on Israel.

The assumption of many Arab lawmakers, in particular those coming from the Maghreb, that "security in the Mediterranean is indivisible" was strongly questioned be several NATO Assembly members, in particular Wim van Eekelen, one of its vice-presidents, and Loic Bouvard, a former president. " The postulate of the indivisibility of security, even if it sounds attractive, neither reflects reality, nor is it a desirable assumption to work from", Mr. van Eekelen said. " How could it be explained, otherwise, that the EU Barcelone process is being revamped, and that NATO is further developing its programmes of cooperation with Mediterranean countries?"

Indeed, even if Southern and Eastern Mediterranean participants did not spare their criticism of the EU's programmes, which did not fulfill their expectations in terms of assistance and investment, and of NATO's initiative, which they felt lacked clarity, the general desire was for more, rather than less, involvement of the Western countries in Mediterranean political and economic developments. For Southern Mediterranean legislators, there was no better way for NATO to show its commitment to security cooperation in the region than for it to finally allocate substantial financing to its Mediterranean programmes. Minimum coordination between the multiple "Mediterranean initiatives" which have sprouted in the last 10 years would also produce "better value for money" and help remove the deep confusion in many people's minds about the Nothern countries' intentions.

While willing to concede NATO the benefit of the doubt, many Southern legislators nevertheless called for a stronger engagement of Europe in the Middle East, to compensate for the "overbearing" influence of the United States. The hope that Europe's progress in defense and security would enable it to play a greater role in the region was also expressed by many, even if often implicitly.

Assembly members, for their part, were more impressed by the argument made by a NATO military official that, to be able to conduct meaningful military cooperation in the Mediterranean, NATO needed a stronger legal basis than available at present.

Convinced that they could make a valuable contribution of their own, NATO parliamentarians stated their determination to pursue their Mediterranean dialogue. An early step in this direction could be a visit to Algeia in the spring 2001, building on the active participation in Genoa of Mohamad Laichoubi, a member of the National Popular Assembly. The Algerian Parliament was represented in an assembly forum for the first time. A further contribution could be the discussion of future "Status of Forces Agreements" with Southern Mediterranean countries, giving the Alliance the legal basis which the NATO commander said was required.

Background: The NATO Parliamentary Assembly, founded in 1955 with a Brussels-based secretariat, brings together 214 national parliamentarians from the 19 NATO countries. 17 Associate delegations from Central and Eastern Europe, Ukraine, and Russia take part in nearly all Assembly activities and meetings. Since 1994 the Assembly has developed regular contacts with 10 countries of the Maghreb and Middle East, as well as Cyprus and Malta.