OUR MEDITERRANEAN
Chancellor, Rector, Honourable Minister, Colleagues, Graduands,
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am honoured of having been invited to address you on such a
special occasion. When I was invited by the Senate to deliver
today’s oration I decided to address an issue which we at the
Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies focus on daily, the
state of our Mediterranean, and the importance of diplomacy in
fostering a more peaceful and prosperous Mediterranean.
The heterogeneous nature of the Mediterranean represents a great
challenge when it comes to managing the security challenges
present in contemporary international relations. The Mediterranean
Sea connects three continents. In the words of Fernand Braudel:
The Mediterranean is not even a single sea, it is a complex of seas;
and these seas are broken up by islands, interrupted by peninsulas,
ringed by intricate coastlines.*1
From a strategic perspective the historian David Abulafia in his
recent book ‘The Great Sea’ notes at least four different “seas”: the
western Mediterranean from Gibraltar to the Gulf of Sirte, linking
southern Europe to the Maghreb; the Adriatic Sea, linking Italy to
the Balkans; the Aegean Sea connecting Greece, Turkey, and
Cyprus; and the eastern Mediterranean basin also in the vicinity of
the Israeli-Arab conflict.*2
An analysis of the pattern of relations in the different sub regions
of the Mediterranean a decade into the new millennium reveals that
while Southern Europe states have become more deeply integrated
into the European sphere of influence, similar to their counterparts
in Eastern Europe since the end of the Cold War, no similar pattern
of unity is noticeable across the other Mediterranean sub regions.
Actually several Arab states in the Maghreb and Mashreq resisted
the option of embracing the global trends of democracy and liberal
values until the Arab Spring of 2011 changed the equation
completely. It remains to be seen if most states along the southern
shore of the Mediterranean succeed in their efforts to implement
political and economic reform or become victims of the faltering
states syndrome.
Given the fluid nature of security after the first decade of the new
millennium what strategic diplomatic policy needs to be
implemented to minimize the level of turbulence between different
states across the Mediterranean area? Can a regional
Mediterranean security arrangement be established to address
security challenges in a more consistent and coherent manner?
Given the heterogeneous nature of the Mediterranean system of
states is it more feasible to address security challenges through
smaller sub regional diplomacy? Does the diversity of security
interests especially along the north-south axis of Mediterranean
relations dictate that security issues can only be contained
effectively through the active diplomatic engagement of extra
regional actors such as the United States, European Union, the
United Nations and the Group of 20?
The continuous emergence of different sources of insecurity
demands a more flexible modality of security management and
robust diplomacy as states in the international system seek to limit
the ramifications from the permanent insecurity landscape we find
ourselves in.
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Security Dynamics in the Euro-Mediterranean Area: Towards
a New Cold War?
Throughout history the Mediterranean has continuously been at the
centre of international relations. The end of the Cold War led some
pundits to believe that the Mediterranean would be marginalized in
global relations. The enlargement of the European Union towards
the east, the rise of China in Asia and the emergence of India and
Brazil as leading economic developing countries further cemented
this perception.
Yet the process of globalization has not shifted international
attention away from the Mediterranean. Two decades since the end
of the Cold War it is clear that the Mediterranean remains an
essential strategic theatre of operation linking Europe, North
Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and the Black Sea together.
The physical importance of the Mediterranean as a geo-strategic
waterway remains a constant.
Evidence of this is further highlighted by the fact that the President
of the only superpower in international relations, Barack Obama,
dedicated his entire address to the 68th General Assembly of the
United Nations in September of this year to the priority that the
United States attaches to the Middle East and North Africa.
President Obama’s main call was for the international community
to join diplomatic forces to resolve conflicts and promote
democracy, human rights and open markets across the
Mediterranean.
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The Mediterranean continues to be a source of instability in
international relations. It is the location of the more than six decade
old conflict between Israel and Palestine. In addition to the
continuous hostilities between these two peoples, this conflict also
attracts the attention of Euro-Mediterranean regional actors and
international great powers. The Arab Spring of 2011 has also
unleashed a period of upheaval that has further attracted
international attention to the Mediterranean.
Prospects for Euro-Mediterranean Security in the TwentyFirst Century
Sustainability of the new era of democratic reform across the
southern shores of the Mediterranean will require economic
development on a major scale for decades. In order to attract the
billions of euros necessary to spur job creation and improve
Mediterranean competitiveness the international community needs
to provide political and economic support that assists in creating
the conducive type of environment that will attract international
investors to the region.
Looking ahead over the next two decades the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) will remain an important geopolitical
location due to the large oil deposits in this region of the world and
the region’s potential as a source of instability.
The MENA's near future will be determined by how the leaders of
these countries decide to manage energy profits, demographic
changes, political reform, and open conflicts.
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The turbulent forces at play in so many of these states dictates the
necessity to dedicate all diplomatic resources towards addressing
and hopefully resolving regional conflicts and to seek to develop a
security arrangement that would help to stabilize the region.
Failure to introduce such a process is certain to negatively
influence Middle Eastern states' chances to implement political and
economic reform.
Central to reducing animosity in the Middle East is resolution of
the Syrian and Palestinian conflicts with Israel. Cooperative
relations with Israel would undermine a traditional pretext for
maintaining large military procurement and curtailing freedoms. It
would also help diffuse sectarian and ethnic tensions across the
region.
Irregular Migration
In the first decade of the new millennium the Mediterranean has
increasingly moved into the international spotlight as a front-line
area for irregular migration from the African continent towards the
European Union. Since 2002, the central Mediterranean has
experienced a growing influx of migrants predominately from the
Horn of Africa, practically all of which have departed from the
Libyan coast towards Europe.
Even though, in absolute terms, the total number of sea-borne
migrants crossing the Mediterranean has not consisted of a massive
exodus from Africa, the continuous flow of migrants has become a
permanent feature of the security challenge landscape. Moreover,
the challenge of managing illegal migration flows has had an
enormous impact on the small state of Malta in proportional terms,
given the country’s small size and very high population density.*3
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Consequently, illegal immigration has become one of Malta’s top
policy priorities, nationally as well as at the EU level, where Malta
has been calling for responsibility-sharing mechanisms and
support from other EU countries in coping with the growth in
irregular immigration. Moreover, boat migration across the
Mediterranean has also become an increasingly pressing
humanitarian challenge. It is estimated that in recent years at least
several hundred would-be immigrants have died every year in the
Mediterranean trying to reach the EU from the south. I am certain
everyone recalls the vivid images of the horrible human
catastrophe that recently occurred off Lampedusa.
Next year Malta commemorates 50 years of Independence, 40
years since becoming a Republic, 35 years since Freedom Day and
10 years since becoming a member of the European Union. It is
essential that these national occasions of historic importance serve
as a platform upon which the profile of Malta’s Mediterranean
vocation and continuous commitment to enhancing stability across
the Mediterranean is raised. This strategic objective of our foreign
policy has become even more relevant in the uncertain times we
find ourselves in.
Malta’s Euro-Mediterranean vocation has always rested upon the
premise that there can be no peace and stability in Europe if there
is no peace and stability in the Mediterranean and vice-versa. As
members of the EU we must do everything possible to persuade
and convince our fellow members that Europe’s security is
indivisible from that of the Mediterranean. Malta, together with
other European and Mediterranean states must articulate clearly
that the EU must adopt a more proactive stance when it comes to
influencing and managing relations in the Mediterranean area.
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As Malta prepares to celebrate important historic occasions and
maps out its foreign policy agenda for its 2017 EU Presidency its
strategic objective should be a straightforward one: Malta should
seek stability in a sea of instability.
It has taken the EU 40 years to launch and start implementing a
comprehensive Euro-Mediterranean policy. If a Pax EuroMediterranea is to be established over the next few decades, it is
essential that the EU focus on spreading prosperity’s benefits more
fairly with its neighbours in the south. The Mediterranean must not
become a wall of poverty along the EU’s southern periphery. This
is the ultimate challenge facing the international community in the
Mediterranean. Malta has an historical vocation to be at the
forefront of this challenge.
Finally, to you the graduands, we are here today to celebrate your
accomplishments. Congratulations for arriving at this milestone
and to the parents and loved ones who have sacrificed so much
with you throughout the years. The years of hard work and
studying have paid off. You are concluding one chapter in your
lifetime and commencing a new one. As alumni of this university,
you are all ambassadors of the University of Malta. You have been
provided with the skills and the intellect to make a difference; be
relevant in every career path you pursue and make the most of all
your endeavours to assist in making the Mediterranean a better
place.
Thank you.
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Notes
1 Fernand Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean
World in the Age of Phillip II, originally in French in 1949;
London & New York 1973.
2 David Abulafia, The Great Sea, Penguin Books, 2011, p.xxiii.
3 Calleya Stephen and Lutterbeck Derek, "Managing the Challenge
of Irregular Migration" The Today Public Policy Institute, 2006.
See also Calleya Stephen, Security Challenges in the EuroMediterranean Area in the 21st Century, Routledge, 2013, pp.8595.
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