The Union for the Mediterranean and the Eastern Partnership were proposed by France and Poland respectively. Each country has presented these policies as a means of furthering the achievements of the European Union as a bloc and helping neighbours to achieve economic and democratic prosperity, however it appears that French and Polish interests are at the centre of these projects.

The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) was launched by Nicolas Sarkozy on 13 July 2008. The main goal of the UfM is to modernise and develop upon the achievements (albeit, negligible) of the 1995 Barcelona Process. Membership comprises the 27 European Union nations and those of the Barcelona Process with the addition of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Libya, Mauritania, Monaco and Montenegro. One of Sarkozy’s possible reasons for bringing the Mediterranean to the fore of EU relations was that Europe’s target of 2 per cent of foreign direct investment in the region is inadequate in comparison to the 20 per cent and 25 per cent America and Japan invests in the countries south of their borders.

The key priorities of the UfM were detailed as: The de-pollution of the Mediterranean Sea; establishing transport links; coordinated approaches to tackling man-made disasters; creating a plausible solar energy plan; the establishment of a Euro-Med University and a business development forum for small and medium-sized companies. The project has set ambitious goals but already leaves itself open to criticism. The Union lacks a detailed policy on freedom of movement which is of primary importance to the southern countries. The UfM is chaired by two countries for biennial terms, one from Europe and one from North Africa – this arrangement is wide open to abuse as chairmen have a lengthy amount of time to only pursue their respective national interests in an already fractious region.

The Eastern Partnership (EP) was presented in 2008 by Poland and to a lesser extent Sweden, as a means of counterbalancing the Union for the Mediterranean. The EP launching summit with the member countries will be hosted on 7 May 2009. Poland supported the UfM on a proviso that Eastern neighbours would have access to a similar proposal. The EP aims to develop oil and gas routes around the Black Sea which do not fall within Russia’s sphere of influence, with the added intention of strengthening EU regional dialogue with neighbours Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus.

The EP aspires to the creation of a free-trade area for agricultural products and services; visa facilitation with the eventual prospect of visa-free travel and increased cooperation in transport, environmental and immigration affairs.

The EU already funds Eastern Partnership countries except Belarus for programmes under the European Neighbourhood Policy Instrument. The agreed funding between 2007- 2010 is; Armenia €98.4m, Azerbaijan €92m, Georgia €620.4m, Moldova €209.7m and Ukraine €494m. In 2008, Eastern European countries received a further €25.6m under the Cross Border Cooperation programme.

Both the UfM and the EP duplicate the intentions of the European Neighbourhood Policy, whereby neighbouring countries are offered closer cooperation and increased access to the EU single market in exchange for political and economic reforms. Not only have they been presented as progressive initiatives, they are also being used as vehicles by their countries of birth to pursue national interests.

The EU has failed to include agriculture in the UfM free-trade agreements even though the sector is of economic importance to southern Mediterranean countries. It has however, opened free-trade to service and industrial sectors where the southern nations struggle to compete with the EU’s prowess. This is glaringly counterproductive and may be attributed to French over-protectiveness of the agricultural sector.

It can be argued that France is using the Union for the Mediterranean to pursue its own interests and strengthen influence in her former colonies. In the week he delivered a speech in Tangier extolling the virtues of a Mediterranean union, President Sarkozy signed commercial contracts with Morocco worth €3bn. France has also offered to advise North African countries on nuclear power in exchange for access to the region’s gas reserves. The inclusion of Mauritania into the UfM is questionable – it is only partly in North Africa, has no direct access to the Mediterranean Sea and is for all intents and purposes a West African country.

Northern European countries, Germany and Austria in particular, were reluctant to fund a project they felt had such limited impact on their affairs. Sarkozy compromised on opening membership of the UfM to all EU members as a way of appeasing Chancellor Merkel and avoiding a split in the Franco- German alliance. This move was despite the fact that France and other southern EU member states have not been granted full membership of the Council of the Baltic Sea States. Sarkozy’s actions are possibly due to the fact that France’s position as the EU state of highest influence in the Union for the Mediterranean would not be threatened by her northern counterparts. Also, the UfM has further implications as it encompasses the protagonists of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is arguable that France realised it would need full EU cooperation if the UfM is to make progress in neutralising the ongoing disputes in the region, although it was supine during the recent hostilities.

It is also clear that Poland is keen to export its success at political transformation and eventual EU membership to its eastern neighbours, and is particularly loyal to her former colony Ukraine. Ukraine has been at the receiving end of conflicting statements as a member of the European Neighbourhood Policy. On the one hand, ENP countries are told that the policy is not a route to EU membership and on the other hand the EU’s High Representative for foreign policy, Javier Solana has referred to the ENP as a “comfortable waiting room” for future candidates.

The Eastern Partnership could help the EU to achieve (or at least appear to achieve) cordial relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. One way to ease tension would be to exploit the natural resources of both nations, thus forging strong trade links and reducing the dependency on Russian oil and gas supplies. This could be the reason why Eastern Partnership countries will have access to agricultural services and visa-free travel, whereby these options have not been made available to Union for the Mediterranean member states.

By proposing the EP, Poland has the opportunity to elevate herself in the EU and consolidate diplomatic relations with her eastern neighbours. The prospect of irritating Russia by engaging non-EU eastern European countries into an EU initiative was probably noted but ignored, which is arguably due to the partial Russian embargo on Polish food products.