Doha, December 07 (QNA) - Experts and diplomats urged a reassessment of Mediterranean relations amid a shifting geoeconomic landscape during the second day of the Doha Forum 2025, focusing on the future of Euro-Mediterranean cooperation 30 years after the Barcelona Declaration.

A session titled "30 Years After the Barcelona Declaration: Rethinking Mediterranean Relations for the New Geoeconomic Era" explored the structural challenges and potential opportunities for strengthening regional collaboration.

Discussions highlighted the declining strategic centrality of the Mediterranean, ongoing conflicts from the Palestinian-Israeli dispute to instability in Libya and Syria, and divisions within the European Union, including Brexit and the rise of nationalist movements.

Dr. Nouzha Chekrouni, former ambassador and senior fellow at the Center for Policies for the New South, said that despite three decades since its launch, the Barcelona Declaration had achieved limited results, particularly in political dialogue and social cooperation.

She noted that the global shift toward Asia and the rise of powers such as China and India, along with internal European factors like Brexit and demographic challenges, had reduced the region’s influence.

Chekrouni highlighted Morocco as a case study, noting the country had opened new avenues through South-South cooperation in Africa and partnerships with global powers like China and the US.

She said Morocco's strategic position within the new Mediterranean Charter enables it to access European markets and play a key role in migration management, counterterrorism, and political stability, leveraging its renewable energy and infrastructure capacities.

Dr. Fernando Jorge Cardoso, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Club of Lisbon, argued that the EU is not a unified geopolitical actor but a collection of 27 states with divergent interests, limiting the European Commission's ability to address migration, security, and regional conflicts. He cited tensions between France and Italy over Libya as an example of this policy fragmentation.

While initiatives like the Union for the Mediterranean remain important, Cardoso warned against overestimating their effectiveness.

Ferid Belhaj, former World Bank vice president, emphasized the historical imbalance between northern and southern Mediterranean states, noting that Europe traditionally dictated reform conditions to southern countries.

 He called for a recalibration based on the new global reality, in which energy—both traditional and renewableplays a central role.

Belhaj also highlighted the Mediterranean's trade and maritime significance, as well as demographic dynamics, pointing out that Europe faces aging populations while the southern Mediterranean has a youth bulge projected to reach 300 million by 2050. He warned that failing to implement economic reforms in the south could drive migration at a time when Europe will need this youthful workforce.

Aldo Liga, a researcher at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, argued that the new Mediterranean Charter reflects a shift from European idealism to pragmatism, focusing on feasible projects rather than a shared space for prosperity and stability. While he praised some initiatives, such as a Mediterranean university and joint civil services, he said the charter fails to address core EU shortcomings, particularly in crisis and conflict management.

The session concluded with calls to develop new mechanisms for cooperation, moving beyond bureaucracy and based on genuine shared interests between the northern and southern Mediterranean, to ensure sustainable partnerships and regional stability.

The new Mediterranean Charter, launched by the EU earlier this year, aims to enhance cooperation with southern and eastern Mediterranean countries, focusing on clean energy, trade, investment, and regional security through joint measures to address migration, climate change, and humanitarian crises. (QNA)