English
By Evmorfia Chrisovalantou-Seiti, International Relations Expert
What it needs to be investigated is the incentive which drives the states and the organizations to undertake the establishment of strategies concerning the security. After the Cold War we can see an extreme shift in security perceptions in international level and regional level. More specifically, apart of the ‘high politics” now the security notion is characterized by a multidimensional nature. ‘’Low politics’’ have emerged in the European security agenda as crucial topics. The threats, risks and vulnerabilities are those elements that urge states to increase the security of their citizens, but also serve the national interests and the interests of their allies.
With the expansion of the security environment, a more integrated approach is more than necessary. Providing security can no longer be purely national or purely military effort. The efforts for the establishment of a secure environment should follow the norms and the dynamics which require the international politics circumstances. A comprehensive approach is required as illustrated by the national strategies and international-regional organizations principles such as the UN and the EU.[I]
European Union as a defence and Security Actor
A key feature of this new approach is that is based on the civil-military cooperation. Furthermore, the countries focus their efforts in the optimization of their foreign and security policy in intergovernmental level for increasing the security in their countries. In regional level, it can be implemented through the EU, NATO and OSCE. Alongside this approach also describes the cooperation of international organizations, non-governmental organizations as well as with the United Nations.
A significant example which proves this shift is the 2001 Communication on Conflict Prevention11 e.g. the European Commission proposed to address the ‘root causes of conflict’ by promoting ‘’structural stability’’, defined as ‘sustainable economic development, democracy and respect for human rights, viable political structures and healthy environmental and social conditions, with the capacity to manage change without resort to conflict’.[II]
European Union and Mediterranean
Europe’s geostrategic position and due to the geographical reality of its proximity to the Mediterranean, is paying closely attention to this region. EU’s aim is to ensure the stability and to avoid any kind of activities which can damage the maritime security or can set in danger the life of individuals.
However, why Mediterranean region is so important for the European Security? Mediterranean Sea is connected with the Atlantic Ocean through the Strait of Gibraltar and the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. Traditionally it was a sea passage for the internal European trade and imports from Africa and Asia. A powerful coalition, a multilateral body as the EU, should adapt to the new challenges and threats which are a result from the systemic context.[III]
Threats and challenges in the Mediterranean Basin
Milestone for the establishment of the new perception of the threats and challenges on the international scene is September 11, 2001. As the most crucial threats are considering international terrorism, regional, political, economic and religious interstate conflicts, which are taking place in areas close to maritime ” chokepoints ” and areas of critical importance due to the existence of natural resources. Even the list of major asymmetric threats of the 21st century including the incidents of pirate attacks.
The geographical proximity with the Middle East consist a challenge for the European Security due to variety of destabilizing factors in this area. More specifically, the Palestinian issue, the Arab uprisings which erupted few years ago, the Syrian civil war and the terrorist activities of the Islamic state. These incidents can contribute significantly to the creation of serious challenges in the Mediterranean region such as the rapid increase of irregular migration and not only.
Another issue that emerges concerning the challenges in the Mare Nostrum is a potential transnational conflict which can cause directly political and financial consequences for the EU. As Mr. Masala and Mr. Tsetsos said, the still unresolved division of Cyprus and territorial and border disputes between Greece and Turkey (e.g. Aegean dispute) as well as diverse interpretations and recognition of national EEZ (Greece, Turkey, Israel, Cyprus, Lebanon), especially after the discovery of natural gas and oil reserves with an estimated volume of 3.5 trillion cubic metres of natural gas and 1.7 billion barrel of oil in Leviathan, are causes for a potential conflict.
Regarding the environmental aspect, a possible ecological disaster will have a serious impact for the whole region. In particular, as defined by the Second Standing Committee on Economic, Social and Environmental Cooperation – Special Task Force on Environment, Mediterranean Sea consist an oil and natural gas distribution channel, as well as storing, processing space and production area. Apart from them, the most important its proximity with North hemisphere and the world’s oil-producing countries results to the daily trafficking of –among other goods, millions of tons of mineral oil, hydrocarbons and other products via tankers of any age, type and operational capacity.[IV]
Moreover, there are refineries, ports of loading/uploading and transfer stations. Also, there are different types of facilities from which drilling operations take place. Something else really important for this region and not only is the fact that oil and natural gas transport pipelines ending up in the Mediterranean, for example, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline. Another serious particularity is the geological and climatologic features which affect a possibility of disaster. For instance, seismic activity, volcanoes, as we were witnessing today due the global warming and other factors the Earth’s axis is shifting and this can cause a sudden eruption and increase in volcanic activity.[V]
The Maritime Security Strategy of the European Union
In June 2014, the European Council adopted a ‘’Strategy for the Maritime Security’’. The Strategy concerns every aspect of the maritime sector. As defined by the European Commission documents, the main objectives of this Strategy are: the identification and formulation of the main strategies of EU maritime interests, the determination and formulation of maritime threats, challenges, risks and finally, the creation of an effective response such as definition of policy objectives, common principles and common sectors of support based on the common strategic framework in order to obtain consistency between the broad range of maritime policies and strategies.[VI]
The strategy is accompanied by the Action Plan adopted by the General Affairs Council on 15 December 2014 in Brussels. The name of this project is ‘’Maritime Security Strategy of the EU- Action Plan’’. This plan is based on four principles: cross-sectoral approach, functional integrity, respect for rules and principles and maritime multilateralism. It also includes the autonomy of the decision-making of the EU, as defined by the Maritime Security Strategy of the EU. These principles are fortified in each measure described in the Action Plan.
In this Strategy are gathered both internal and external aspects of security of EU maritime transport, and also includes actions to achieve that objective. There is also a provision for assessing the progress and possible review of the Action Plan. Regularly report will be given by the High Representative and the Commission based on input from the Member States.[VII]
The ‘’vulnerability puzzle’’ of the EU
The existence of these threats which affect directly or indirectly the EU is inevitable. Modern industrial societies depend on the open sea lines of communication, the infrastructure safety as well as the protection of natural resources of the seabed.
A large number of the European citizens live and work outside the European borders, many European companies are operating outside the EU and European Non Governmental Organizations contribute to the confrontation of crises in all around the world and million European citizens are travelling around the world. All these factors complete the ‘’vulnerability puzzle’’ for the EU regarding the maritime security. European citizens can be target for kidnapping or potential targets of terrorist attacks, with basic aim the terrorists to blackmail the states in order to achieve political expediencies. In that way, the protection of European citizens and businesses globally considered as a duty and responsibility of the member states of the EU under the new security environment in the 21st century.
[I] Carlo Masala and Konstantinos Tsetsos, ‘’The Maritime Dimension of the European Union’s and Germany’s Security and Defence Policy in the 21st Century, Maritime Security of the European Union’’, ISPW Strategy Series: Focus on Defence and International Security, Issue No.229, May 2013
[II] Karatrantos, T., ‘’European Union as a Security Actor’’, Presentation for the purposes of Erasmus Internsive programme ‘’Governance and Security in Europe and the Mediterranean’’, Rethimnon Crete, September 2-13 2013
[III]Panebianco, St. ‘’Dealing with Maritime Security in the Mediterranean Basin: The EU as a multilateral actor ‘’, Instituto Affari Internazionali , 2010
[IV] ‘’Natural disaster prevention and management in the Mediterranean marine space caused by oil or gas leakage’’, Draft Report, 2nd Standing Committee on Economic, Social and Enviromental Cooperation, Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean
[V]‘’Natural disasters Ramping Up Around Mediterranean Sea and Saudi Arabia’’, available at http://www.extinctiontheory.com/natural-disasters-ramping-up-around-mediterranean-sea-and-saudi-arabia/
[VI] ‘’Strategy for the Maritime Security’’, available at (http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/maritime-security/index_el.htm)
[VII] Council of European Union, ‘’Maritime Security Strategy- Action Plan’’, Brussels, 16 December 2014, available at (http://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/policy/maritime-security/doc/20141216-action-plan_en.pdf)