ABSTRACT
From the 1970s onwards, a shift in the Community policy towards the Mediterranean countries became discernible. A first step in this direction came from the European Parliament in its debate on 9 February 1971. The debate centred on M. Rossi's report on the commercial policy of the Community in the Mediterranean basin.1 This report, while deploring the policy pursued hitherto, stressed the need to lay the foundations of a Mediterranean global approach that would combine trade, development aid and increased consultation on issues of common interest. During this debate, Ralf Dahrendorf, then the Community's Commissioner for external trade relations, expounded in his statement to the Parliament a set of principles that should guide the Community in devising a credible policy in the Mediterranean area. Underlying Dahrendorf s vision was a wish to see the extension of existing purely commercial relations to other fields in such a way as to contribute to the economic development of the region. His argument was:
Parallel to these developments and despite earlier disagreements, the attitude of the individual Member States seemed to have evolved towards a common acceptance of a comprehensive formula for the whole Community with respect to Mediterranean countries. France and to a certain extent Italy played a major role as the main proponents of such an undertaking. France's support was dictated by its economic and political weight in North Africa and by its desire to develop better relations with the rest of the Arab world. The Community's expansion towards this region would in the words of the late French President Georges Pompidou: 'improve Europe's equilibrium by making Mediterranean and Latin influences more apparent' (quoted in Pickles, 1973, p. 326).
