Can the Crisis Unlock Euro-Mediterranean Relations?

The  EU’s economic and governance crisis is widely regarded as harming Euro-Mediterranean  relations  precisely   at  a  time   of unprecedented  opportunity.  This  is  true  in  many  ways,  but  perhaps less  so  in  others.  The  need  to  make  EU  foreign  policy  more effective  amidst  budget  cuts  and  dwindling  influence  should  be made a virtue. The  EU should beef up the inert,   heavily institutionalised  structures  of  Euro-Mediterranean relations  with a set of more agile, targeted and effective partnerships. Starting from specific  shared  goals  rather  than  from  institutions and  instruments, such  flexible cooperation schemes  should  not  margin alise  EU institutions  but  help  to  create  new  dynamics  to  revive  momentum for  deeper  integration  and  institutionalised  multilateralism  in  the Mediterranean further down the road.