30 years into its existence, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is in problematic shape. Criticized for being ineffective, one-sided and too much focused on trade and security, while aspects such as democracy and human rights have been sidelined, the “Barcelona Process” seemingly failed to reach any of its initial goals.

At the same time, “Arab Spring” aspirations haven’t brought the expected fruits to North Africa. As the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) shows, bad governance and autocratic rule highly correlate worldwide, and the North African region is no exception. The current BTI 2024 records the lowest scores ever for North Africa in all three BTI dimensions: Political Transformation, Economic Transformation and Governance.

This event explores the consequences for the relations between Europe and North Africa. Speakers and panelists will contribute their renowned expertise in the fields of foreign policy, regional cooperation and democracy promotion, sounding out future potentials of cross-Mediterranean relations, looking for options how the initial goals of the “Barcelona Process” could best be redefined and what initiatives the new Commissioner for the Mediterranean should treat with priority.

The event is organized in collaboration with IBEI, Barcelona Institute for International Relations and with the support of the European Institute for the Mediterranean (IEMed).

(This event will take place in Catalan and English).

Programme

• 17:30 Institutional welcome - Clara Bassols, Director of Fundación Bertelsmann; Laura Chaqués, Director of IBEI
• 17:40 Keynote speaker - Jaume Duch, Minister for the EU and External Action. Government of Catalonia
• 17:50 Introducing the Bertelsmann Transformation Index 2024 - Hauke Hartmann, Senior Expert, Bertelsmann Stiftung
• 18:00 Round table discussion: Increasing Autocracies in the Southern Mediterranean. What consequences for Europe? - Hauke Hartmann, BTI Senior Expert; Jan Völkel, BTI regional coordinator MENA (Middle East & North Africa countries); Elisabeth Johansson-Nogués, Jean Monnet Chair at IBEI; Amel Boubekeur | Middle East Institute, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (TBC); Moderator: Vicent Climent-Ferrando, Fundación Bertelsmann
• 18:50 Networking cocktail

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