Spanish foreign and security policy in the Mediterranean

Abstract

The Mediterranean has long been a priority of Spanish foreign policy. Since achieving membership in the European Community Spain has tried to attract the Community's attention to the Mediterranean and in particular to the importance of stability in the Maghreb. With the end of the cold war Spain and Italy launched an initiative for a conference on security and cooperation in the Mediterranean without success. Spain, in collaboration with France and Italy, drew the attention of the EC to the Maghreb, and negotiations of free‐trade agreements were undertaken in Morocco and Tunisia, culminating in the Euro‐Mediterranean Conference of Barcelona in 1995. At the same time, Spain supported dialogue and confidence building between the Western European Union and the Maghreb states and made an effort to interest NATO in the south.