Revista CIDOB d'Afers Internacionals (Dec 2007)
Spain and Mediterranean Security Governance: Neighbours, Spaces and Actors
Abstract
The 1999 Tampere Summit marked the start of the development of the external dimension of the European Union’s policy of Justice and Home Affairs (JHA). This external dimension has been reflected in the inclusion of JHA in agreements with third countries, and particularly with Mediterranean countries. Furthermore, the European NeighbourhoodPolicy (ENP), in addition to bilateral and multilateral programmes, confirmed the transformation of the JHA policy into one of the EU’s foreign policy objectives. In the light of this evolution, this article examines Spain’s role in the development of the Mediterraneandimension of the JHA policy: firstly, it covers the stance of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero’s government toward the JHA policy and its external dimension; secondly, it explores the new parameters of governance in the area of security and the Spanish case through three main factors: the neighbours, spaces and actors that define this governance. Lastly, and within a context of a multiplicity of governance actors on security, it focuses on the Canary Islands,which have acquired a central importance with respect to the management of borders and the policy of development for Africa. The analysis of this period helps to explain the new security perceptions that define Spain’s policy in the Mediterranean.
