Arab Inter-parliamentary Union - News

Euro - Arab Parliamentary Dialogue
Item 2: Economic and Cultural Cooperation
Arab Paper

A. Migration in the Euro - Arab Zone:
The issue of migration and migrant workers is one of the important and thorny files in the Euro - Arab relation, particularly because the general European stand tends to the restriction of migration. Add to that the difficult conditions and discriminative practices in which the migrants live, including those who have been living for a long period of time in the receiving countries.

Arab migrants in Europe can be classified into two categories: workers in different production and service sectors, and specialists with distinguished experiences in different domains. Migrants of both categories left their countries for many reasons, the most prominent of which are the following:

• The weakness of the process of development in their countries and the failure in absorbing these productive forces.
• The insufficiency of the material income necessary for a decent life.
• The political and social instability, as well as the problems facing the democratic process.
• The availability of more chances for scientific research, (as for elite migrants).

In addition to those specialists there are several millions of Arab worker in the European countries, mostly from the Arab Maghreb countries.

The brain drain and the migration of workers have several negative effects on the development process in the Arab Countries, in addition to the real difficulties suffered by the migrant workers which hinder their merging with the society of the receiving countries.

The Arab side believes that special attention should be paid to this issue in the framework of Euro-Arab relations. It also believes that the implementation of the following proposals would contribute to the solution of this complicated issue:
1. The compliance with the principles of the conventions of the International Labour Organization, and with the International convention adopted by the UN in December 1990 on protection of migrant workers and their families.
2. The beginning of negotiation between Arab and European countries to conclude agreements dealing with the terms of stay, employment, the freedom of access to work for Arab migrants in the countries of the European Union, as is the case with members of other communities.
3. The agreement on the receiving countries' responsibilities vis-à-vis the migrants' future, their vocational training, freedom of movement, and ensuring suitable living conditions for them.
4. The recognition of the emigrants' right to choose eventual return to their homelands or stay in the receiving countries. In case of returning home they should be paid ruminations and financial aids.
5. The protection of migrants from discriminating tendencies and from the practices of European extremists.

B. Improving The Agreements Concerning Economic And Cultural Cooperation Between European And Arab Countries
1. On Economic Cooperation:
It is common knowledge that economic cooperation between the Arab and the European countries is taking place under the great changes which stormed the world during the last decade of the past millennium, namely, globalization, liberation of world trade, spread of capitalist liberalism and market economy, retreat of the role of governments in directing national economies, and increase of the role of huge multinationals in manipulating world economy and controlling its balances.

The European Union (EU) is the first "trader" in the world. It disposes of 20% of world foreign trade. The share of the EU in the Arab Foreign trade is 57%, and reaches 73% with some countries.

Under the pressure of globalization, the requirements of international financial institutions and European partners some Arab countries adopted programs for rehabilitating their economics and accommodating them with the international developments.

The Arab countries have also taken serious steps to establish the Arab Trade Free Zone which is hoped to lead to the merging of Arab countries' economies and to the improvement of their situation on the international market.

As Europe is the main economic partner of the Arab World, the Euro- Arab cooperation within the Euro - Arab Partnership is expected to develop in the correct and the prospective international circumstances. Arab Parliamentarians believe that it is necessary to improve the Euro - Arab economic agreements through the following channels:
1. Working out measures at the W.T.O level in order to mitigate the difficulties caused by the loss of competitive margins by Arab countries , on the one hand , and compensate for the losses resulting from the price increases of imported foodstuffs , on the other hand ,
2. Facilitating investment flows to the Arab countries in order to support the efforts exerted to promote development in all fields ,
3. Bettering the conditions of access to the markets of developed countries for the exportable commodities of Arab countries by reducing preferential tariffs considerably ,
4. Promoting technical and financial assistance aimed at improving and accelerating food production in Arab countries , which will reduce their dependence on food imports ,
5. Transferring developed technology to Arab countries and train personnel to absorb and use this technology in the fields of production, information and others.

2. On Cultural Exchange:
The cultural dimension is an important factor in the field of the Euro-Arab cooperation. This dimension acquires special significance because it expresses civilizational and historical continuation between Europe and the Arab World. If political and economic aspects are more prominent in the two forms of the Euro-Arab Dialogue - governmental and parliamentary - this dialogue cannot be consolidated unless it is given a cultural dimension, through which the relationship between the peoples of the two regions would be deepened and enriched.

Cultural exchange between Arab countries and Europe acquires more importance in the third millenium. The world today is that of communication which go beyond national borders; it is an open world dominated by market considerations more than by cultural or moral ones.

The globalization which we see now in the economy and commerce will also reach the cultural field as well. This will raise two important issues for all countries, especially developing ones, including the Arab countries. These two issues are:
- The issue related to preserving the national and cultural identity for all peoples, and finding the suitable equation between what is particular to a certain people and what is common among all peoples.
- The issue related to the values generated by globalization and disseminated through mass media. Such values might contradict the prevalent values in many societies, including Arab societies.

This situation raises the task of strengthening cultural exchange between the European and the Arab sides, and promoting cultural agreements signed between them with special stress on the following matters:
1- Each side should fight, within its society, the currents hostile to the other side. It has to be noted, in this respect, that the Arab side suffers more as a result of the rise of Islamophobia and Arabophobia, the rise of racism and xenophobia in Europe and attacks against Arab migrants in particular. These tendencies have increased after the events of 11/September in the U.S.A.
2- Working out carefully studied media plans aiming at correcting the wrong views spread in the countries of each side against the spiritual and cultural values of the other side. Such plans might includes:
- The organization by both sides of symposiums or seminar on subjects of common interest;
- The conduction of dialogue through satellite channels where Arab and European intellectuals take part;
- The exchange of delegations, publications, artistic groups, films and cultural programs.
3- The revival of the project of the Euro-Arab University, and paying more attention to teaching Arabic in Europe.
4- The working out of a plan for translating Arabic books (especially those concerned with cultural heritage, novels and plays) to major European languages.

Top of this page