The Mediterranean: A Firm Priority of Spanish Foreign Policy?

Spanish foreign policy pays special attention to the Mediterranean, basing itself on a model established in the mid-1980s. The model is focused excessively on the Maghreb. While the period that led to the Euro-Mediterranean Conference at Barcelona in 1995 was characterized by creative activism in both the bilateral and the multilateral sphere, the period since then has seen the Mediterranean lose prominence on Spain's foreign policy agenda. The challenges to be found in the area, most importantly underdevelopment, Islam and emigration, require a change of attitudes and instruments from those currently involved in Madrid's policy.