EUROPEAN UNION and THE MEDITERRANEAN: BEFORE and AFTER THE ARAB SPRING

Abstract

The Mediterranean region is always important for the European Union (EU) as historically and geographically. In 1972, the relationship between EU and the Mediterranean region began to shape under the Global Mediterranean Policy, in 1995 Barcelona Process and in 2007 the Union for the Mediterranean Process. In December 2010, the civil commotion started in Tunisia then spread to the Gulf region. In this context, this study will analyze EU's Mediterranean policy before and after the Arab Spring in two chapters. In the first chapter, how European policies take action toward the Arab World also to the Mediterranean Region and second chapter tries to analyze how Arab Spring has an effect on Mediterranean politics which EU tries to shape and develop since 1972.