ABSTRACT
Taking into account the geographic proximity the intensity of economic, cultural and human relationships, the Community will have to define a genuine ‘proximity policy’ with its Mediterranean partners. The new Mediterranean policy that emerged at the end of the 1980s reflected a number of changes in the social, political and economic landscape. In 1990s, the Community made a great effort to clearly define its objectives in the Mediterranean region and to pump more funding into specifically targeted projects; as proof of the European Communities (EC) new commitment, nearly three times as much funding reached the Third Mediterranean Countries (TMC) under the fourth financial protocols than under the third. In 1994, as the immigration question again loomed large on the European political landscape, the Commission called for another fresh start to EC-TMC relations and the creation of a ‘Euro-Mediterranean Partnership’.
