The lecture reviewed European–Arab cooperation
since the early 1970s, specifically 1973, during which
political dialogue was mostly absent, although
economic and technical cooperation agreements were
implemented. The speaker traced the development
of the cooperation between the two parties with the
expansion of the membership of the European Group
and its development into a partnership. Since the 1995
Barcelona Conference, strategic ties between the South
Mediterranean countries and the European Union
have grown significantly, based on security, political,
economic and social stability aspects, and leading,
hopefully, to the creation of a Free Trade Zone. In
addition, the speaker provided an overview of the
cooperation agreement Jordan has had with the EU
since 1977 through which much beneficial assistance
was received. A comparison between similar agreements
signed with Israel and Tunisia was also made.