THE BARCELONA PROCESS AND ISRAEL

The paper briefly presents the Barcelona Process, the structure, and the main formal and non-formal purposes of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, resulting from the 1995 Barcelona Conference. A decade after the Barcelona Process began, there are some areas of progress but a combination of theoretical and practical-political problems has placed strong constraints in the advancement of the EMP. It turns out that what began as a major international initiative, has become a sideline in international relations. The article examines the relationship between Israel and the EMP, describing political instances in which the Israeli government makes the best of its association with the EMP. It also shows weak points in this relationship which lie in the area cooperation. Finally, the paper mentions the establishment of the European Neighborhood Policy. ENP may help to overcome some problems in the relationship between Israel and the EU.