ABSTRACT
From the early 1980s the Maghreb countries entered an era in which they have undergone decisive societal transformations. The relative euphoria associated with some of their earlier socio-economic accomplishments, notably during the 1970s, has since the 1980s given way to a phase of uncertainty revealing the limits of the policies pursued and the challenges lying ahead in the economic, social, and political spheres. It is this situation, with its diverse dimensions and likely knock-on effect beyond the region, that has given the EU cause for concern about the potential instability on its southern flank and the need to re-define its development cooperation policy instruments whose impact, overall, had proved less effective.
