Opening-day of MED 2018 in Rome

MED 2018

Rome [ENA] The Mediterranean is one of the most asymmetrical borders in the world. There’s an urgent strategic need to stimulate the economic development of the Southern Mediterranean basin and Sub-Saharan Africa in order to create local economic opportunities in the countries of origin of migrants. Recently, Rita Katz, director of Search International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Intelligence Group, told the Italian Press Agency

that Libya is "without a doubt the new danger for Europe". Today in Rome it’s the opening-day of MED 2018, the 4th edition of the annual high–level initiative, co–organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI). This event is meant to turn Rome into a global hub for high–level dialogues on the broader Mediterranean, with a view to re–thinking traditional approaches and drafting a new "positive agenda". The MED 2018 event is hosting 9 Plenary Sessions with 4 main pillars: Shared Security, Shared Prosperity, Migration, Media, Science and Culture.

This year’s edition includes 6 Policy Forums, which debate on Yemen, Iran Sanctions, youth employment, the Gaza crisis, the role of Tunisia, and Infrastructure security. Furthermore 7 Special Dialogues focus on specific countries as Egypt, Iran, Israel, Japan, Palestine, Qatar and Russia. In a world where the EU’s aspirational global leadership has been undermined as a result of the financial crisis, rising Euroscepticism, the proliferation of crises on its doorstep and rising scepticism of European public opinion, MED 2018 envisions to re–think Euro-Mediterranean relations.

Western democracies have become more protectionist and inward-looking, and are shifting to the extremes at a time when multilateral cooperation is the only way to respond to global challenges effectively. No single EU Member State can respond effectively to today’s global challenges on its own and President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal and impose secondary sanctions on European companies doing business with Iran has shown the limits of European economic sovereignty.

In this scenario, the new US National Cyber Strategy points to Russia, China, North Korea and Iran as the main international actors answerable for launching malicious cyber and information warfare campaigns against Western interests and democratic processes. Washington pointed out its intention of scaling the response to the magnitude of the threat, while actively pursuing the goal of an open, secure and global Internet. The first Report of the ISPI Centre on Cybersecurity focuses on the behaviour of these “usual suspects”, investigates the security risks implicit in the rising international confrontation in cyberspace, and highlights the current incompatible political cleavage between these four suspected countries and

the West in their idiosyncratic approaches “in and around” cyberspace. The EU Member States all too often prioritize their national interests, notwithstanding the possible consequences at a European level, thereby undermining the EU’s credibility as a global player. The Commission and the Member States should act strategically by using all the means at their disposal, including trade, development, and diplomatic and military tools, to strengthen the EU’s geopolitical influence and protect its interests. In this historical situation transatlantic relations are essential for the security and prosperity of both sides of the Atlantic and Mediterranean.