Bilateralism or Biregionalism: Balancing Short-term Interests with Long-term Vision in the Mediterranean

The EU’s strategies towards the Mediterranean region—sometimes referred to as its southern neighbourhood—have fluctuated between two key approaches: fostering regional, multilateral cooperation, or prioritising the development of bilateral ties with individual southern neighbours or partners. When, by whom, and for what reasons have the EU and its partners chosen to prioritise one form of cooperation over the other? Have past successes or failures in advancing these strategies influenced preferences in the modalities of cooperation when reimagining or renewing European policies towards the Mediterranean? This article examines the evolution of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), its transformation into the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), and its coexistence with other frameworks, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and the EU-League of Arab States dialogue. The focus is on identifying patterns of policy learning and adaptation over time. Specifically, the article explores how EU institutions, member states, and partner governments have navigated the tension between transformative, multilateral efforts and more immediate, transactional, bilateral engagements. The argument is made that while the EU has often pursued region-building initiatives, these efforts have frequently been overridden by geopolitical realities and internal EU pressures favouring bilateralism and transactionalism to secure short-term stability and security. Less publicly, some partner countries have also actively promoted differentiation. This is the result of learning process which has resulted in a gradual recalibration of the EU's expectations regarding the potential for a cohesive Euro-Mediterranean regional identity, leading to a shift towards pragmatic, interest-driven bilateralism. The article identifies key drivers behind these policy learning processes, examining perceived successes and failures in both multilateral and bilateral approaches, and how they have shaped policy preferences. To this end, the article focuses on defining moments in which the EU—and occasionally its partners—revised and reformed existing cooperation frameworks. These episodes include: the inception of the Barcelona Process in 1995, the adoption of the ENP in 2004, the re-launch of the of the Euro-Arab dialogue in 2006 and the creation of the Union for the Mediterranean in 2008, the EU’s response to the Arab Uprisings in 2011, the ENP review in 2015, and the adoption of the New Agenda for the Mediterranean in 2021.