Italy in the Mediterranean: Priorities and Perspectives of a EU Middle Power (original) (raw)

Italy: an aspiring Mediterranean middle power wavering between bilateralism and multilateralism

2020

Italy managed to be an important actor in European affairs, its status as major power was several times called into question. Italy’s domestic political instability, the frequent government crises, severe economic and financial problems hinder the country’s goal to become a recognized middle power, especially in the Mediterranean region. Bilateral and multilateral tools are used alternately by government coalitions to carry out foreign policy which has been dominated by migration. Due to the afore-mentioned internal problems security and defence policy is not capable of supporting foreign policy to the necessary extent.

Southern Europe and the Mediterranean: National Approaches and Transatlantic Perspectives

2011

about istituto affari internazionali The Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), founded by Altiero Spinelli in 1965, does research in the fields of foreign policy, political economics, and international security. A non-profit organization, the IAI aims to disseminate knowledge through research studies, conferences, and publications. To that end, it cooperates with other research institutes, universities, and foundations in Italy and abroad and is a member of various international networks. More specifically, the main research sectors are European institutions and policies, Italian foreign policy, trends in the global economy and internationalization processes in Italy, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, defense economy and policy, and transatlantic relations. The IAI puts out an English-language quarterly (The International Spectator), an online webzine (AffarInternazionali), a series of research papers (Quaderni IAI) and an Italian foreign policy yearbook (La Politica Estera dell'Italia).

The EU’s Mediterranean Policy: Competing Frameworks, Actors and Dynamics from Above

Mediterranean Policies from Above and Below, 2009

The EU is a postmodern actor in international relations. The example of the EU's Mediterranean policy allows the analysis of the EU's common foreign policy towards a third region, with a special attention to the competing institutional frameworks and the interaction between the above and the below, between governmental and non-governmental actors. A European Mediterranean policy officially exists since the Global Concept of 1972, replaced by the Renovated Mediterranean Policy in 1990. Only in 1995, with the launching of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), was a comprehensive regional concept for the EU's external relations to the southern and eastern Mediterranean developed for the first time. One of the new elements of the EMP was to involve civil societies in this process of intensified Euro-Mediterranean intergovernmental cooperation. Complemented by the introduction of the European eighbourhood Policy (E P) in 2003, the EMP underwent various crises in its implementation and was finally renamed and upgraded into the "Union for the Mediterranean" (UfM) in 2008, by means of new institutional structures. This contribution gives an overview of the existing multilateral and bilateral policy frameworks, their objectives and interrelations. We argue that, in a globalised world, non-governmental actors are gaining more influence on the formulation processes of foreign policy. But is this observation also valid for the case of the EU's Mediterranean policy? The Mediterranean region remains a priority region for the EU for political, economic, cultural and social reasons. That is why the EU needs to invest in viable and innovative scenarios for the Euro-Mediterranean space and to keep alive Mediterranean dynamics from above.

The EU in the Mediterranean: Between its International Identity and Member States’ Interests

One of the reasons for the low effectiveness of the European Union’s policy in the Mediterranean is the discrepancy between the EU’s international identity and the national interests of its Member States.The EU has been building its international identity on values that are proper to political idealism. In large measure, however, the EU’s declared aims have not been consistent with the national interests of its Member States. In effect, while Member States are able to adopt general guidelines for the EU foreign policy, translating such guidelines into specific actions often proves impossible.The aim of this article is to analyse the low effectiveness of the EU’s policy in the Mediterranean region in terms of the discrepancies between the idealistic concept deriving from the EU’s international identity on the one hand, and its realistic actions based on the EU’s Member States’ national interests, on the other. As the European Union’s foreign policy is shaped at the intergovernmental level, national interests tend to take the upper hand. The Mediterranean policy of five EU-Member States will be analysed – France, Spain, Italy, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Italy, Turkey and China in the Eastern Mediterranean: Implications for the EU

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 2024

The Eastern Mediterranean is undergoing rapid transformations, increasing its importance in current international affairs for four main reasons: i) the energy dimension and the discovery of natural gas fields; ii) the new geopolitical dynamics testing the balance of power between states; iii) the refugee crisis; and iv) the renewed presence of external great powers. In this framework, the article explores the role of Italy and Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean region with a focus on energy issues and the refugee crisis. It also analyses China's growing influence in this region and in Italy in the context of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the implications of these policies for the European Union.

‘There Is No Future of Europe Without Africa’. Shaping the Vision of Europe Through the Prism of the European Neighbourhood Policy: Italy's Perspective

SISP Conference 2024, 2024

The concept of a united and prosperous Europe has been a guiding vision for the European Union (EU) and its members since its inception. An important step towards this idea was the initiation by the European Commission of a strategic instrument of EU foreign policy in the form of the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) in 2003. This framework was created to support stability, security, and prosperity in the countries surrounding the EU. The ENP seeks to create a ring of well-governed countries to the east and south of the EU, enhancing political, economic, and social ties with its neighbours. This policy is instrumental in addressing challenges such as migration, security threats, economic disparities, and political instability, which are crucial for the realization of a stable and cohesive European continent. The main stakeholders are not only EU institutions but also its member states. Nonetheless, these actors are experiencing increasing disagreements over the EU’s aims, content, and geographic preferences. Italy, for instance, supports the peace process and stability in the eastern part of Europe and its enlargement, but given its strategic geographic location and historical connections — described as its ‘natural vocation: a bridge between Africa and Europe’ (Meloni 2024) — shows greater interest in the countries of the Mediterranean area than in those belonging to the Eastern Partnership. It takes the position that Europe’s eyes should turn to the Global South, especially Africa. This perspective is deeply influenced by the country’s national interests, which include ensuring regional security, managing migration flows, fostering economic development, and leveraging cultural ties. These interests align with the broader goals of the ENP and contribute significantly to the evolving concept of Europe. This paper examines how Italy’s engagement with the ENP reflects and shapes the future vision of Europe. Empirically, the analysis covers Italy’s strategic actions, economic initiatives, and cultural diplomacy within the ENP framework, with particular emphasis on the Mediterranean area. Understanding Italy’s perspective provides valuable insights into the complexities and dynamics of the ENP, shedding light on how individual member states contribute to the collective European vision. This research is part of the Horizon Europe project SHAPEDEM-EU (Rethinking and Reshaping the EU’s democracy support in its Eastern and Southern Neighbourhood).

April 2019 Problematizing Effectiveness and Potential of EU Policies in the Mediterranean

2019

This report aims at combining the research results of the previous Work Packages (1–7) of the MEDRESET project with a view to evaluating the effectiveness and potential of EU policies. It does so through an analysis of the EU’s framing of the Mediterranean and how it is perceived by its Southern and Eastern Mediterranean (SEM) partners, how the key stakeholders depict the region as such, and how these conceptions and perceptions of the Mediterranean are reflected in their interaction in substantive issue areas, on the geopolitical and sectoral level. The major argument of this report is that the EU’s depoliticizing, technocratic and securitized approach towards the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean erodes the Union’s credibility, detracts from its effectiveness and seriously limits its potential in terms of providing bottom-up policies geared towards promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law, prioritizing development, favouring youth employment and gender equality, and ...

Italy and the Militarization of Euro-Mediterranean Border Control Policies

This chapter describes the evolution of the Italian maritime border control policies in the last twenty years, analyzing the process that has led to the creation of a complex and integrated border control apparatus. Integrated here refers to the facts that border control policies increasingly involve the action of many institutional actors and that the geopolitics of border control produces a wide frontier zone extending from third countries' territorial waters up to the archipelago of first reception and detention centres located on Italy's southern shores. The chapter starts with a preliminary examination of the wider context in which the control of irregular migration by sea takes place in the Mediterranean scenario, focusing then on the description of the Italian border control apparatus. In particular, it will describe the legal basis and the complex institutional framework that shaped maritime border surveillance policies in the last twenty years. These policies will be analysed by describing their evolution up to the latest operational activities launched in the Strait of Sicily with the aim to tackle the refugee crisis. The analysis will highlight the leading role played by Italy in the increasing militarization of border control policies taking place also at the EU level, by illustrating how this is due not so much to the humanitarian need to provide greater search and rescue capacity on the high sea, as to the political will to strengthen the external governance of internal security by using the fight against smuggling and trafficking in human beings as a cover for legitimizing an increased presence of EU security forces in crisis contexts.