ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the origins of the Algerian crisis and the Community's irresolute response to it. It considers the European Union's (EU) collective reaction, and the reaction of individual member governments, to the cancellation of the Algerian national elections and the spiralling violence that followed. The chapter examines EU policy and diplomacy as the situation in Algeria degenerated into a de facto civil war, one which spilled over onto European soil. It focuses on Algeria's negotiation of a Euro-Mediterranean Agreement with the EU and its participation in the Barcelona process. The breakdown of order in Algeria began with the mass demonstrations and riots of 1988. The EU's response to the challenges will be a test of its commitment to work for a more stable, secure and prosperous Mediterranean region. The 1990s saw the Union devote an increasing volume of financial and political resources to so-called 'good governance' – respect for universal human rights, fundamental freedoms and the democratic process.
