Alternatives for Turkey to the EU Enlargement

The Union for the Mediterranean is a multilateral partnership between the European Union and its Mediterranean neighbors, including 16 partners from Africa and the Middle East. The essay will focus on its influence on the middle East countries, such as Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, and Syria. It will start with the antecedents, the Barcelona process and the Mediterranean Union. Following with the current Union for the Mediterranean and its implication in the security of this area. The paper analyze the working system of the UfM and its general objectives, politics and Security, Economics and Trade, Socio-cultural and Justice and Interior Affairs, plus some concrete actions. Afterwards the real influence of the UfM on the Middle East is explained, pointing out good and bad characteristics, finishing the with different proposals in order to increase the effectiveness of the UfM in the Middle East