EU / US / NATO AND THE MIGRATION CRISIS IN THE MEDITERANEAN AREA

ABSTRACT

European construction has always been built around universally recognized values and
standards. In its vision of the world, it has proclaimed itself as a guarantor of democratic
values, of peace, of stability while participating in the promotion of development through
cooperation (Ian Manners, 2002). The part of its Mediterranean neighborhood has not
remained on the sidelines of this reality. Its presence in the region via several association
agreements (Euro-Mediterranean union or the European neighborhood policy)
demonstrates its firm vision of making its contribution to building society in the image of
what it is. It is a process aimed at socialization and democratization for European countries
in the region (Amelea Hadfield, Ian Manners, 2017). An approach which seems to be in
opposition to the vision of several authors. Indeed, the position of a Europe of civil power as
developed by François Duchêne or even of the normative power of Ian Manners is
confronted with an imperial approach, of interests in the region by Jan Zielonka or even A.
Del Sarto who believe that Europe, in its cooperation with the countries of the
Mediterranean, seeks only to defend its economic and strategic interests in the region, to
the detriment of democratic values or human rights which have always constituted
conditionalities in the agreements of associations of Europe with its neighboring
Mediterranean partners. Faced with this opposition of points of view, the analysis in the face
of the various arguments poses the problem of the objectives sought by the European Union
in the Mediterranean region.

Keywords: civil power, normative power, interest, imperialism.

 INTRODUCTION

If the notion of power defines classic levers of intervention (economy, diplomacy, military
power) used in a direct or even coercive way, or an influence that an actor can use on the
international scene through alternative tools soft (influence, culture, image) in order to
make one's views triumph, it is fundamental to specify that the vision or the concept of a
powerful Europe at the level of the Mediterranean neighborhood presents several variations
in the analysis. First of all, it is important to remember that the approaches of a European
power in the region have long been the subject of several debates in the scientific
community. If for many Europe as a "civil power", as popularized in particular by François
Duchêne at the beginning of the internationals, who also tried to account for a specific or
even alternative mode of positioning of Europe on the international scene via the expansion
of democratic values, peace and stability, development or even cooperation (Ian Manners,
2002). This approach is best taken up by Ian Manners, with the concept of 'normative power'
which attempts to describe what was, could or should be the recent role of the EU on the
international scene and shed light on the specific influence of which she could be a carrier
(Michel Camau, 2009). A European Union for the establishment and management of
international standards. This clearly appears as a modifier of norms in the international
system. A vision that comes up against another realistic approach to Europe, considered to
be an entity imposing internationals on other sovereign actors. In the logic of transferring
practices and rules beyond its border areas, the European Union is in fact engaged in
normative policies which serve above all its own economic and security interests (Jan
Zielonka, 2011). the vertical imposition of democratic conditionality in the EU's relationship
with its local spaces sometimes forges the perception of a "new imperialism". Indeed, if the
West or Europe held long before to a vision promoting values or standards in the
Mediterranean region, several paradigms appear as time passes to modify this logic towards
other issues which inevitably seems to put back in consideration of its intentions as a
postmodern power (Elena Aoun, 2013). This new approach to a diplomacy of interests
translates into the representation of an anarchic international scene. These divergent trends
that emerge from the reflection of a Europe as a normative power in the Mediterranean or
an approach to interests in the region pose the problem of knowing whether Europe is
playing the role of a normative power in the Mediterranean? Where then is not all the event
to preserve its strategic interests in the region? These questions will be the main subject of
our analysis.

Is Europe the role of a normative power in the Mediterranean?

The first approach to the concept of "normative" proceeds from the idea of a "norm" in
human behavior. The evocation of the EU as a normative criterion suggests the importance
of the "ethics of virtue" in the world political game in general and that of its neighborhood in
particular. The European Union is therefore a construction whose originality is based on
multiple original values fundamental to the development of a society, namely freedom,
human rights, equality, the rule of law and even democracy (Ian Manners, 2007). Indeed
even if it is defined as being a united Europe characterized by an identity marked by values
or standards which it would like to convey to the rest of the world (Amelea Hadfield, Ian
Manners, 2017). Unfortunately with this position of a united Europe around universally
recognized values, the fact remains that this Europe in terms of foreign political vision does
not often seem unanimous because of national egoisms or national interests which often
take precedence over the supranational vision. or institutional. The case of Italy's attitude at
the level of these borders towards migrants from the south of the Mediterranean
demonstrates despite the opposition of the EU does not prevent it from putting into practice
its vision which nothing other than a materialization of the internal policy of the State (Louis
Blin, 2018). Despite this approach of standards which characterizes European foreign policy
converge towards the idea according to which the Union exercises a type of power different
from that traditionally projected by States caught in the anarchic logic of the system, which
is based on the ability to use strength. Conceptualizing the European Community as a civilian
power sets aside realistic theses by taking the approach that a non-state entity can be a
power, that power can be non-military, and that it can be owned and operated. deploy in
purely civilian areas. This concept served as a springboard for related notions such as gentle
power, post-modern power, soft power or even normative power (Ian Manners, 2002).
These are the elements that seemed to describe the direction or political vision of Europe
towards the Mediterranean where it believes it can "make an essential contribution to
stability and development" (European Commission, 1971, xxvi). Apart from it is important to
put a limit in this direction in its will to extend this soft power, Europe is thinking through all
the cooperation promoted by the "action plans" in the fields of the fight against terrorism.
and the management of migratory flows. Torn between the defense of its security interests
and the dissemination of its democratic model, the EU is in search of a doctrine. This a
constructivist approach based on the discourses and beliefs of Europe throughout its
evolution and which it disseminates and which are universally recognized. By defining these
standards and values which characterize the fundamental pillar of its identity, the EU intends
to play a role of civil power in its geographical environment specifically through partnership
agreements (Euro-Mediterranean partnership, union for the Mediterranean, the European
policy of neighborhood) (Mark Furness, 2008). This is a logic that seems to clearly describe
its implicit desire for partnership with its neighbors in the Mediterranean. The European
neighborhood policy takes on board this logic that governments and Mediterranean
societies can transform and be transformed, in particular by applying the principles of
conditionality and socialization (Anne-Marie Le Gloannec, 2009). Despite the creation of a
framework for cooperation between Europe and its neighbors in the Mediterranean via
regional cooperation agreements, it should be noted that the adherence to EU standards by
its partners takes place bilaterally even then. that the partnership is supposed to structure a
region. It is in dispersed order that third countries are concluding the same type of
agreement with the EU. The result is a mechanism that is supposed to combine the bilateral
and the multilateral. The latter consists of a series of institutions: ministerial conferences,
working groups, forums. But in terms of actions and financing, the bilateral predominates.
This vision applies to countries in the Mediterranean such as Morocco, which can be
observed in bilateral agreements between Morocco and the European Union (Mohammed
Zakaria Abouddahab, 2014). Indeed, it should be specified in this logic that everything goes
from Morocco's ambition to integrate the European internal market with the counterpart of
advancing on the path of reforms, democratization and the rule of law and above all to
enable it to better control its borders, especially for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. It will
therefore be necessary to specify in this approach that the action of the EU through.
The European Union readily regards itself as a great, generous power and champion of the
defense of human rights and of development aid. Following this logic with regard to
standards, the Barcelona Process has made it possible to achieve convergence in the
macroeconomic field (debt, deficit, inflation, de-statization) (Mark Furness, 2008). And from
the defense of human rights, the EU by deciding to enter into a partnership or to cooperate
with a third state in the Mediterranean region introduces a conditionality clause in
accordance with the human rights convention. This clause acts as a legal constraint vis-à-vis
the state or third states with which the EU undertakes to cooperate (Federica Bicchi, 2006).
In this sense, the European neighborhood policy has a strong normative dimension and
intends to use conditionality to encourage the Union's partners to converge on "common"
values. In a neorealist approach, it should rather be noted that the promotion of democracy
by the EU is linked to general issues directly involving European interests: the fight against
transnational criminal activities and illegal immigration, the protection of the environment,
the maintenance of free trade and the security of energy supplies. This approach to the
security of Europe is the fundamental goal as any actor in the international system is to
survive was very quickly manifested by a redefinition of the agreements or the terms of
cooperation with the countries of the southern shore of the Mediterranean by putting a
strong emphasis on migration issues (Evelyne Ritaine, 2015).

Contradictions of a normative power of Europe in the Mediterranean: an imperial

construction?

If in the popular conception Europe defined as a territorial entity is often represented as

being a normative or even civil power, promoting universal standards in its neighborhood,
the fact remains that the conception of this Europe as defender of values such as peace,
democracy, sustainable growth good governance (Ian Manners, 2008) questioned by a good
slice of analysts. It is considered to be an entity imposing internationals on other Sovereign
actors. In the logic of transferring practices and rules beyond its border areas, the European
Union is in fact engaged in normative policies which serve above all its own economic and
security interests (Jan Zielonka, 2011). In this analytical approach, the alleged normative
behavior of the EU is seen as a desire for a strategy aimed at increasing consideration of its
usefulness. Just as history has always shown that empires for the sake of ensuring their own
security have always anticipated the pace by trying to stabilize their borders for economic
benefit and easily export Imperial order. The European Union perceived here as an empire
has not remained on the sidelines of this reality. She made a commitment to represent
herself as the guarantor of a "civilizing mission" linked above all to the normative perception
she has of herself. Its representation of a normative power renders the verdict towards its
environment negative (Jan Zielonka, 2011).

The export of EU practices and rules goes beyond the formal adoption of standards that may
result from the signing of agreements, as the practices that the EU generally seeks to export
to the neighborhood are made up of procedure. aiming to have border control, in the sense
of management practice. It is an imposition of "how the EU would like things to work". In
contradiction with a desire for development or the creation of an integrated zone between
the northern shore and the southern shore, everything seems to indicate that, far from
being a policy built with neighbors, the European neighborhood policy is therefore a strategy
for neighbors, or for neighbors. The mechanism that governs relations between the EU and
its neighbors is, of course, that of conditionality or, to euphemistically, of (forced)
socialization. It all depends on the efforts of the partner and on the compliance of its
behavior with what the Union has prescribed in the action plan.

The European neighborhood policy is an example of this which presents the logic of a Europe
which invites the countries of the South to negotiate cooperation agreements which forces
them through mechanisms to harmonize their regulations which will be much more
beneficial to the country. 'Europe. Association Agreements provide a clear explanation of
this European advocacy approach (A Del Sarto, 2016). If the European neighborhood policy is
perceived as a partnership for democracy, it should rather be understood as a change of
neighborhood, it is a self-criticism of the failure of the EU to make efforts to promote
democracy and human rights. Rather, this partnership specifies that governments should
cooperate with Frontex at EU border level. Added to this is the principle of readmission
which is quite simply a categorical refusal or expulsion of unwanted migrants in Europe
(Abdenour Benantar, 2013).

In this author's approach the European Neighborhood Policy is a hidden form of the
European strategy to extend their imperial power all around its external environment. This
policy was never in terms of results a great success for the Europeans, quite simply because
the imperial attitudes of the EU towards the partner countries of the region and its strong
desire to establish itself as a civilizing power whose role The first was to transform these
partner states with policies similar to those of European countries that have always distorted
the bases of cooperation (A. Del Sarto, 2016).

In this logic, it therefore appears clear that the vision of a Europe promoting democratic
values in the region appears to be rhetoric for the EU to justify its political and above all
security interests in the region. The EU acts with its exterior in a postmodern empire version
of a civilian power. In an approach of progressive imperialism; whose scope is based on the
diffusion of "civilization" in so-called "uncivilized" societies to improve the standard of living
and promote civil and political liberties in territories located beyond the legal boundaries of
the imperial policy of people living in these territories to assimilate into imperial society. The
European management of migratory phenomena is linked to the historical attachment to
norms and to soft power emanating from the European Union (Abdenour Benantar, 2013).
The main hypothesis is to assert that this management represents a break with European
normative power, while putting forward a purely realistic approach which is that of
defending interests to the detriment of values. The weight of national interests and the
intergovernmental approach first allow us to reveal an "insecure" approach to immigration
(security studies approach). On the other hand, the process of externalizing borders calls
into question the obvious commitment to freedom and security. The Mediterranean idea
has imposed itself in European societies to the point where all governments have tried to
translate it politically for twenty years. The attacks in Nice, Brussels, Charlie Hebdo ... have
sufficiently justified the fear of Europe that the threat from elsewhere has been deported to
soil. The desire to contain this external threat made the objective of European countries the
central element of their diplomatic agenda on the shores of its southern borders, from which
the threat would originate. It is a declared refutation of Europe vis-à-vis globalization or a
liberal vision marked by a Transnationalism of migration, however defended by this same
Europe in these texts. In the European neighborhood policy is the normative basis, but
Brussels has a new approach based on increased assistance and subordinate to the fight
against irregular immigration to the EU. To better situate the debate on the contradictions
between European standards and their actions in the region, the intergovernmentalist
approach gives a more or less clear understanding of the beginnings of what could be called
the foreign policy of the European Union (Ulrich Beck , 2003). These standards may be the
reference of the EU's vision or literature, but in practice they can be context through the
sovereignist approach of the state. As for Frontex, its role seems paradoxical with regard to
the principles of good governance and rejection of the "norm", in favor of the force. For
example, the association agreements which enabled it to impose readmission clauses on its
partners; through bilateral agreements between such and such a Member State and such
other third State which strengthen mutual assistance in the fight against terrorism and illegal
migration, which may go as far as joint military and police surveillance of land and sea
borders; through the application of the European neighborhood policy giving hope for
preferential treatment in terms of the movement of people In the Mediterranean, European
countries cooperate with their partners when they perceive an interest in doing so, and they
will embark on institutional channels if they consider that these provide them with more
earnings (Guillaume Albessard, 2016). The question of values is generally secondary or else
serves as valid enough justification to make credible the imperialist policy of the Europeans
in the region.

CONCLUSION

At the end of this analysis, it is of capital importance to specify that Europe in the region
marked by positions or desire to extend its normative power, the fact remains that this
ambition hides another reality to be able to be. qualified as hegemonic will or the
affirmation of a European imperial power. If to follow as an empire, the European Union
must first secure or contain any potential threat that could harm its survival, it should
therefore be specified that the issues related to its security seem to be above all projection
or ambition that the European Union claimed to have in the region, even if it is a question of
the principles and values that it has long defended and which constitute its cultural heritage
or its identity.
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