Cleaning up the Med

On the occasion of the set of ideas presented by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy for the establishment of a “Mediterranean Union”, the 6th issue of quarterly review, “The bridge” cover story focuses on the prospects of the political, economic and cultural cooperation between European Union and third countries in the Southeast Mediterranean.

One of the articles included in the cover story of this issue is that of journalist based in Athens Harry van Versendaal. I have the impression that the title of this article “Cleaning up the Med” discloses writer’s intentions to consider the environmental aspect of the Euromediterranean cooperation. I tend to believe that Harry van Versendaal brings forward an interesting and evergreen topic. As he says in his article: “There is no time to waste. The Mediterranean maritime ecosystem is deteriorating fast and experts warn that the damage could be irreversible…The industrial emissions, municipal waste and urban waste water are said to be responsible for up to 80 percent of pollution in the Mediterranean.”

“We need to move away from the mindset in some quarters that ignores the costs of environmental damage and only sees protection from the damage as an expensive luxury that can wait until a country is wealthy enough to pay for it”, he added.

It is beyond doubt that EU doesn’t see protection from damage as an expensive luxury and in the context of the Euromediterranean partnership offers financial and technical assistance to its partners around the Mediterranean. However, it seems that EU has failed to prod the governments of these countries into taking environmental measures. So I firmly believe that EU should lay more emphasis on the harmonious coexistence of the economic development and the environmental protection. In other words, sustainable development shouldn’t remain as a declaration of an important target of the Euromediterranean Partnership. It should aslo be translated into certain actions on behalf of both partners.

A warm welcome to Bulgaria and Romania

A warm welcome to Bulgaria and Romania

The fourth issue of the review The bridge (January-March 2007) is about to be published, the focal point of which are the opportunities that are opening up in the Balkan neighborhood and the wider region of SE Europe as a result of the accession of our neighbors Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union.

For this cover story, articles have been contributed by:

Meglena Shtilianova Kuneva, Bulgaria’s first European commissioner
Leonard Orban, Romania’s first European commissioner
Alina Mungiu-Pippidi, director of the Romanian Academic Society
Antoinette Primatarova, program director at the Center for Liberal Strategies, Sofia and a former ambassador
Theodore George Tsakiris, an international and energy security specialist, as well as a research fellow at the Hellenic Center for European Studies
Dr Dimitar Bechev, research fellow at the European Studies Centre, University of Oxford
Sorin Moisa, doctoral candidate in international relations, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford
George Kasimatis, director of the Office of the European Parliament in Greece
Dr Eugenia Markova, Greek Ministry of Economics and Finance senior research fellow in the political economy of Greece and Southeastern Europe at the Hellenic Observatory, European Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science

-In the same issue Christos Homenidis and Gazmend Kapllani attempt to define “Balkanity” as a reference point for a new regional identity of European standards, leaving behind the ghosts of the history of the region.

-Furthermore, in the same issue there are two interesting sections:

1. The day after… Middle East – Lebanon with articles by:
Dimitrios Triantaphyllou, director general of the International Center for Black Sea Studies (ICBSS), Athens, and assistant professor of international relations at the University of the Aegean
Dr Anat Lapidot-Firilla, researcher at the Center for Strategic and Policy Studies at the School of Public Policy in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Yezid Sayigh, professor of Middle East studies at King’s College London.

2. The case of Kosovo with articles by:
Joachim Ruecker, special representative of the UN secretary-general in Kosovo (SRSG)
Dusan T. Batakovic, ambassador at large, counsellor to the president of Serbia and a member of the Belgrade negotiating team
Agim Ceku, prime minister of the Provisional Institutions of the Self-Government of Kosovo
Dr Ruby Gropas, political scientist and research fellow with the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP), Athens, Greece.

For more:www.bridge-mag.com