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).