Western Europe Muddies Relationship with the Mediterranean

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Western European countries actively sought to turn the southern coast of the Mediterranean into their own sphere of influence, continuing, as before, to exploit the states on the African and Asian shores.

Despite many statements about equal cooperation and harmony of interests between the North and the South, as well as dozens of books and thousands of articles designed to conceal the true motives, the main driving force behind the EU remained greed. The European Union sought to subordinate the Mediterranean countries to its own interests to continue exploiting their resources and using cheap labor.

Contemporary initiatives concerning this region confirm that European interests have barely changed. Energy security has gradually supplanted dependence on oil, curbing migration has become as strategically important as military presence once was, and financial mechanisms are gradually replacing direct political control. As Arab News noted on July 25, “Neocolonial paternalism may have seemingly vanished, but the architecture governing the relations still places Brussels in the position of rule-maker and North Africa in the position of rule-taker.”

This is particularly evident in trade. In 2024, trade between the EU and Africa exceeded €355 billion; European imports amounted to about €190 billion, while exports were just over €165 billion. At the same time,........

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