![]() This consensus is a major asset to the forum, and it opens more space for the possibility of implementing comprehensive regional arrangements, leaving no opportunity for individual moves or turns driven by circumstantial changes. Philia could be seen as the political arm of the EastMed Gas Forum, and the long history of consensus between its participating states will likely boost its effectiveness. The announcement followed a meeting hosted by Athens aimed at strengthening cooperation between the states and “actively” contributing to consolidating security, stability and peace in the region. Recently, the foreign ministers of Cyprus, Greece, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, and Bahrain announced the formation of a Friendship Forum (Philia Forum). While economic interests are at least theoretically the central link between the EastMed Gas Forum states, many of those countries have not shied away from connecting on issues of politics and security. Therefore, as opposed to the loose Gas Exporting Countries Forum, sometimes called “the OPEC of gas,” the EastMed Gas Forum serves as an alliance that aims to create a what some might call a “Gas Gulf,” a geostrategic area in the Mediterranean whose politics could resemble those of the oil-rich Arab Gulf states. What sets the forum apart, as the name implies, is that it is limited to gas-rich Mediterranean countries and their neighbors, all of whom already enjoy strong interrelations. ![]() The forum’s members include Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Israel, Jordan, Palestine, France, and Egypt, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), United States, and the European Union as observing members. The EastMed Gas Forum, which was launched about a year ago, could serve in the kind of streamlined geopolitical role that the Union is currently unable to fill. This change has largely been the result of the Union’s generous membership system that allowed entry by states who have little in common-the Union currently includes 41 countries, spanning from Sweden to Mauritania. Since then, the role of the Union for the Mediterranean, an institution that emerged from the Barcelona process, has gradually waned, increasingly resembling a non-governmental organization concerned with environmental issues, women’s rights, and water security rather than a bloc with coherent politico-economic and security goals. The Arab-Israeli peace process was at its peak, and Turkey and Iran had not yet expanded in the region as they are doing today. When the European Union launched the Barcelona Process (Euro-Mediterranean Partnership) in 1995, the EU had barely settled into its current form, and Cyprus was not yet included. Since the birth of the Union of the Mediterranean in 2008, the geostrategic effectiveness of the organization has weakened. Already, the EastMed Gas Forum and Philia Forum seem poised to take up that role. In addressing these changes, there is a need for a more practical version of the Mediterranean region’s international institution, the Union for the Mediterranean, in which states shape their foreign policy and economic strategy with a shared vision. Over the past decade, shifts in the regional balance of power have generated renewed political challenges in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Mediterranean that necessitate the expansion and diversification of regional relations and alliances. Arab and Mediterranean countries with common interests are creating new shared tools that can be used to combat Turkish and Iranian influence in their regions.
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