Co-operation in the Mediterranean basin

14 September 1994

Doc. 7147

1403-13/9/94-2-E

CONTRIBUTION

of the Committee on Culture and Education

to the debate of the Assembly

on co-operation in the Mediterranean Basin

by Mr de PUIG,

Spain, Socialist Group

1. Politics, commerce and culture. The Mediterranean sea, by its own name and the variant mare nostrum, was once a political reality. Its various parts have, as their various names (Ionian, Aegean, Tyrrhenian, Adriatic etc.) show, also been politically contested — and are so still. Before and after the short-lived political cohesion established by Rome, there was commerce and as a result of this mobility a constantly developing cultural commonwealth despite the important cultural differences. One question we address in this opinion is how far the cultural and historical reference points in the Mediterranean region enable it to retain the attention of the Council of Europe. Another is how close are the tensions in the Mediterranean to the key issues of the Council of Europe.

2. Cultural tourism. The relevance of the Mediterranean in terms of cultural tourism cannot be disputed: it has a historical sense and it has a coherence (Greek theatres, Venetian castles, etc.). The Council of Europe could well lend its weight to developing a wider perspective to such projects as the so-called "Phoenician cultural route" that have so far had a largely commercial and unfortunately restricted point of departure.

3. Religious tolerance. The main world religions have confronted themselves in the Mediterranean area and they remain on its borders. Nowhere else on earth is there such a focus of the conflicting positions of Judaism, Christianity (in all its forms) and Islam. Jerusalem, Rome, and Istanbul (Byzantium and Constantinople) are all Mediterranean cities and the Balkans are a Mediterranean region. The Assembly has added its voice to those aiming to convert this stage for confrontation into one for reconciliation and tolerance. The Symposium on Jewish Sephardi and European Cultures, held by the Committee on Culture and Education in Toledo in April 1987, led to similar symposia on Jewish culture in Paris, Munich and Budapest and is to be followed up next year in Vilnius. In parallel the committee has discusssed the Islamic contribution to European culture (Paris 1991) and the more general question of religious tolerance (following hearings in Jerusalem and Istanbul).

4. Intellectual and artistic co-operation. In very general terms, much of the richness of classical antiquity was essentially based on centres in Greece, Ionia, Magna Graecia and Egypt. Its intellectual substance survived largely thanks to its transmission through the Arabic civilisation on the southern side of the Mediterranean. The artistic channel was rather to the north through Byzantium and Cyprus to Ravenna and Rome. The classical (Mediterranean) tradition remains a central factor of influence; it is a field of common study, of co-operation and the advancing of mutual understanding. There is less dominance by the universities of northern Europe and more co-operation with Mediterranean countries. There is considerable technological transfer. Proposals for Euro-Arab university co-operation have been made by the Assembly; such initiatives should be pursued for example in the art-historical field by consideration of the influence of Ottoman (Islamic) architecture.

5. Intercultural co-operation. We are here faced with the very uncertain distinction between what is potentially common and what differentiates European society from that of the rest of the Mediterranean. The problem is a matter of what is inside and also outside. We have however come to terms with this with the Jews and so why not also with Muslims? The Assembly should point out how important the Mediterranean area is for clarifying these problems of coexistence rather than polarising them into conflicts. It is important to recognise the intercultural potential of the Mediterranean. In this context we should stress the significance of inter-city contacts; on the initiative of the cities of Athens, Barcelona, Haifa and Tunis a first meeting of Mediterranean cities will be held in Barcelona in March 1995.

6. Youth co-operation. The Committee on Culture and Education has emphasised the importance of informing European public opinion on north-south problems: closer attention should be paid to how Mediterranean problems are presented in schools and in the media. Following meetings earlier this year in Rome and Valletta, proposals have been tabled for developing a dialogue between parliamentarians and youth representatives from all Mediterranean countries. Meanwhile a Euro-Arab youth secretariat is being developped within the Maltese Ministry of Youth and a youth documentation centre planned in Cairo. This area clearly should be pursued in close liaison with the Council of Europe's youth structures.

7. Migration and mobility. This concerns most particularly young people from the eastern and southern coasts of the Mediterranean. The question is whether an evident cultural and geographical reality can claim some sort of precedence. For economic and security reasons the solution is outside our competence.

8. Cultural identities. It is important to recognise, support and promote the various cultural identities on the southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean with the same concern as we promote them inside Europe. This is not a matter of colour, class or creed. The Assembly sees cultural identity as an inclusive and extendable concept.

9. European perspective. The Mediterranean region can no longer in cultural terms lay claim to priority European attention. With the political changes in central and eastern Europe our attention has been drawn to whole areas of Europe that for most of this century have been isolated. New regions have emerged and cultural co-operation developed in them. An obvious counterbalance to Mediterranean co-operation in the south is that developing in the north — Baltic and Baltic sea, Barents sea and Polar co-operation.

10. Conclusions. In historical and cultural terms the Mediterranean region is of relevance to Europe as a whole. The Council of Europe should therefore continue to follow the various areas of potential cultural co-operation in the Mediterranean area. It should press for a cultural dimension to the dialogue with the states on the eastern and southern shores. At the same time such co-operation should be fully compatible with co-operation with other parts of Europe and on other frontiers.

Mediterranean co-operation in the sense of regional co-operation is another matter. In certain specific cultural fields the Assembly has already indicated an interest in such co-operation: for example it has been suggested that underwater archaeology be administered on the basis of agreement between states bordering on a single sea or part sea (Recommendation 848). As a general rule pending the creation of an appropriate body such as the CSCM, there seems to be no room for systematising such co-operation.

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Reporting committee: Committee on the Environment, Regional Planning and Local Authorities.

Reference to committee: Doc. 6894 and Reference No. 1891 of 3 September 1993.

This contribution was approved by the Committee on Culture and Education on 6 September 1994.