Will Algeria boycott upcoming Euro-Mediterranean conference owing to Israel’s presence?

This is the outstanding question raised by manifold observers because Israel is involved in the summit to be held in Barcelona, Spain, on the 26th of the current month.

According to a Spanish daily newspaper, Madrid is envisaging to arrange a meeting at ministerial level in the framework of the so-called “Union for the Mediterranean” (UPM), as this oriented-economic encounter will witness the presence of representatives of the European Union, and the countries of the Southern Mediterranean shore, including Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon in addition to the Zionist entity, which will also be attending as a way to rekindle the  “UPM”, an endeavour  cherished by former French President Nicholas Sarkozy.

According to the same newspaper, the Spanish Foreign Ministry seeks to cling to the initiative, in this particular juncture, in response to the Catalan separatists’ moves on the one hand, and their outspoken leader Artur Mas.

As a recall, this month is the date of the 20th anniversary of the Barcelona process which was launched precisely in November 1995 by the foreign ministers of the 15 EU Member States and 12 Mediterranean partner countries in an effort to map out a framework agreement for increased bilateral and regional relations between these countries.

Contacts have been carried out with the EU and the countries of the southern Mediterranean, including Algeria and Israel.

This initiative of the Union for the Mediterranean was the Trojan horse of former French President Nicolas Sarkozy. But it turned out to be a fiasco, despite the adhesion of many heads of state.

Moreover, it triggered the outcry of several Arab countries, including Algeria, which saw in this shady initiative a covert maneuver by both France and Morocco to normalize their relations with Israel.

But this much-vaunted project was nullified after the wanton Zionist military aggression on Gaza in late 2008.