A ‘Marshall Aid plan’ for the Middle East and North Africa could be the solution to promote economic development and create jobs in this troubled region, according to international relations expert Stephen Calleya.

The academic will be floating this idea during the forthcoming meeting of European non-executive heads of State, known as the Arraiolos Group, in which he will be moderating a debate on Euro-Med security and migration. The two-day event will held in Malta between September 14 and 15.

Since the very first meeting held in the small Portuguese town of Arraiolos, the group has expanded to 13 countries including Malta, who will be represented by President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. 

Apart from Prof. Calleya’s session, the event will also see the participation of Prof. Carmel Borg who will moderate a separate debate on Europe’s social values.

Ahead of this event The Sunday Times of Malta spoke to the two academics on their expectations of the meeting as well as their views on the aforementioned themes.

Prof. Calleya noted that the scenario in the Mediterranean changed completely following the Arab Spring of 2011, which in turn posed new security challenges to the region.

While advocating a more proactive EU approach to influence and manage international relations for more stability in this region, he warned of the dangers of the absence of a Mediterranean-centric security arrangement.

This has already led to conflicts, failed States, an escalation in terrorism, the proliferation of weapons procurement, more illegal migration, drug trafficking and other types of organised crime, he noted.

However, Prof. Calleya believes that political will on its own will not be enough to influence geopolitical relations on such a large scale. For this reason he will be advocating a kind of Marshall Plan – the US post-WWII initiative to aid Western Europe – to promote economic development across the Middle East and North Africa.

“This fund, which will require tens of billions of dollars to be effective, can be financed by the G20 including the rich Gulf States, and can be geared towards restoring ailing Arab economies over a period of five to 10 years,” he says. 

“Such a fund would provide vital support to undertake the necessary reforms in a socially sustainable manner and ultimately help in economic growth and job creation,” he added.

On his part Prof. Borg told this newspaper that his session would focus on what he described as the “legitimacy crisis of the European State”.

In his view, such a crisis is symptomatic of the retreat of the State from its central role, evident in the first 30 years after WWII, as defender of the ideal of liberty, premised on solidarity (fraternité) and the elimination of social as well as economic inequalities, and on genuine access to social goods (egalité).  

“As the Enlightenment ideal continues to be eroded by a world economic order that is premised on the accumulation of wealth and power, democracy is distancing itself from social justice while 118 million people in the EU are living in poverty, some of whom, (7.6 per cent) categorised as working poor,” he pointed out.  

The session will also provide an opportunity to reflect on some of the “collateral damage of the so-called ‘managed democracy” – the term used by Prof. Borg to describe the asymmetrical economic development or the multi-speed European Union. 

This is manifesting itself in geographic differences in job opportunities, a higher percentage of women compared to men living below the poverty line, the slow rate of social mobility and the dramatic over-representation of people born outside the EU within the poverty trap, he remarked.

The debate will also touch on the issues of solidarity and social justice within an increasingly automated economic environment which is posing the threat of redundancy for millions of workers.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.