The Western Mediterranean Forum, commonly referred to as 5+5 Dialogue, meets in Malta today for a two-day summit attended by the leaders of the group’s 10 member states. It is only the forum’s second summit for heads of state or government ever since the regional grouping was informally set up in Rome in 1990.
The 5+5 Dialogue is a useful forum for discussion because it is the only regional grouping that brings together the members of the Arab Maghreb Union with its immediate European neighbours from the Western Mediterranean in an informal setting. It also complements other regional groupings, such as the Union for the Mediterranean and the European Neighbourhood Policy.
The choice of Malta to host today’s summit is proof of the Government’s commitment to promote dialogue in the Mediterranean between North and South. Due credit should therefore go to Malta’s diplomatic initiative aimed at hosting this meeting.
The 5+5 Dialogue promotes confidence-building measures as well as dialogue and cooperation between the country members in various areas.
These are all important issues which contribute to a more stable Mediterranean and it is in Malta’s interest for such cooperation to be strengthened.
The meeting is particularly significant because it is the first time since the Arab Spring that a regional summit of leaders from the Arab world and the European Union is being held.
Two of the Maghreb countries at the summit, Libya and Tunisia, underwent regime change as a result of popular revolutions last year and are now undergoing a process of political transformation.
The summit must express its support for these fragile democracies and the consolidation of the rule of law as well as for political reform to continue in the three other Maghreb participating countries: Morocco, Algeria and Mauritania.
The EU participants – namely the leaders of France, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Malta as well as European Commission president José Manuel Barroso and the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood Policy, Štefan Füle – must put across the message that the EU will continue to help the Maghreb with financial aid and trade concessions as long as democratic reforms in these countries continue.
Foreign Minister, Tonio Borg, rightly told the United Nations General Assembly last week that the 5+5 meeting was an opportunity to address the wave of democratic reform occurring across the Arab world.
It would, therefore, be equally appropriate for the summit to draw attention to the deteriorating situation in Syria and to condemn the atrocities being perpetrated by the regime in Damascus. This might encourage stronger action against Syria by both the Arab League and the EU.
Security and illegal immigration are expected to be discussed too.
Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has made it clear that Malta will continue to insist that illegal immigration is not just a country’s problem but a problem for the whole region. Hopefully, he will be given more than a sympathetic nod by the other leaders at the summit; Malta, with limited resources and space, needs all the help it can get in tackling irregular immigration.
Security cooperation is equally important if we want a stable and peaceful Mediterranean. Al-Qaeda inspired terrorism still threatens the region and it is important that a zero tolerance attitude is adopted towards jihadist extremists.
The recent events in Benghazi have shown the risks of not clamping down on such dangerous groups.