French President Nicholas Sarkozy's idea to launch a new track with the Union for the Mediterranean has failed, as expected. At the beginning of his term, Sarkozy aspired to launch a new track, more successful than the Barcelona process, and invited leaders from the Mediterranean, including then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, Syrian President Bashar Assad and Egyptian President Husni Mubarak. Sarkozy realized that the peace process was stalled, despite the effort of the Annapolis Conference. However, he said it was not in his nature to sit in his office and do nothing. He believed that a Union for the Mediterranean would see joint projects around the region that could bring states together, even if the peace process made no progress. He gave an optimistic example about a project to clean the Mediterranean Sea, but its waters have seen no such project, which would be valuable for all of the countries on its shores. Politically, major doubts have overshadowed the convening of the Barcelona Summit on 12 November. Where was the Union of the Mediterranean? In the Arab world, there is a profound dispute between Egypt, Syria and divided Lebanon, which is on the verge of a dangerous struggle between the allies of Syria and Iran and pro-sovereignty forces, who want to exclude Syrian-Iranian hegemony over the country. The Palestinians are suffering from similar division, between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, while Israel is constantly expanding, heedless of European denunciations and American entreaties. In North Africa there is also division. Morocco and Algeria have been continually at odds for decades, as the Sahara issue remains unsolved. What kind of union could there be for a Mediterranean full of division, which are boosted daily by expansionist Israeli policies that no one can stop? Words are no longer sufficient. Economic pressure is required. But who can put economic pressure on Israel? This is taboo. In political terms, Mediterranean countries show few prospects for a union. Syria has regained its dominance over Lebanon, which is not a case of unity, but hegemony by Syria's allies on the ground, as in the past. They have the power to paralyze government and spread fear, with the west divided over this behavior. Paris is looking the other way and Washington is imploring its ally to exercise tough pressure on its new friend, Syria. However, Paris is disregarding this, especially since the White House is acting without consulting its ally France. The west is also divided; the European Union is mired in an economic crisis that is sweeping over the Euro zone and other countries. Democracies are weak in times of crisis, since governments can disappear upon being held accountable by voters at the polls. In dictatorships, which are unfortunately stronger, there is no public accountability for what they do. They can impose a single opinion and their weight on any issue, without being held accountable. This all means that the Union for the Mediterranean has failed for the time being. It is unrealistic to expect the Barcelona Summit to convene in such a climate on 12 November, amid constant Israeli expansionism and the policy of the Jewish state's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, who rejects any true peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state. It is unrealistic to expect Mubarak and Sarkozy at the Barcelona Summit, chaired by Spain, meeting with leaders from countries most of which are in conflict with each other, with pending issues – what would be the benefit of such a summit? Perhaps it would be a photo-op. The prevailing belief is that the Barcelona Summit will not take place, and moreover, according to more than one analyst, that the Union for the Mediterranean has failed.
