Socio-Cultural Challenges of the Maghreb States and Their Impact on Relations With the European Union

Abstract

For the European Union, the Mediterranean region holds strategic importance. It is an area of many opportunities, but also of considerable challenges. The numerous crises currently affecting the region, including the demographic one, have disrupted the Braudelian perception of the Mediterranean as a maritime basin surrounded by societies, cultures, nations and economies, whose interactions over the decades – despite their diversity – constituted an added value, making it a true “cultural area.” Unfortunately, socio-economic uncertainty, unemployment, conflicts and climate change have made a return to such thinking impossible.

In recent years, these factors have worsened due to the internal instability of several states on the southern flank of the Mediterranean Basin, including the Maghreb countries. The European Union’s involvement in stabilising the situation in the region and supporting the Maghreb states has been longstanding and visible at various levels of activity since the 1960s. Today, more than ever, the support provided to the southern partners focuses on strengthening the resilience of their societies – particularly the youth – and their governments in implementing demographic and employment policies. Both the European Union and the governments of the Maghreb states are fully aware of the challenges they face on a daily basis. This, in turn, compels governments to engage with other actors at multiple levels in pursuit of shared objectives, creating what may be described as a form of regional governance order.
The purpose of this article is to analyse socio-cultural factors as key driving forces shaping the application of new patterns of interaction between the European Union and the Maghreb states. Their identification will make it possible to capture the nature of Euro–Maghreb challenges and to understand how current developments within the Arab states of North Africa influence the evolution of their relations with the European Union.