ABSTRACT
Introduction The Mediterranean area represents a pivotal geostrategic region for the security of the European Union (EU). It serves both as a natural geographic border between the European, African, and Asian continents as well as a political and cultural frontier between Occident and Orient. Furthermore, due to its importance as a primary maritime trade route from Asia to Europe and its potentially vast deposits of natural resources it constitutes a vital source for future European political and economic development. The Mediterranean is the largest mostly enclosed sea of the world, at approximately 2.5 million km 2 . It is connected to the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar and to the Red Sea through the Suez Canal. Through the Dardanelles and the Bosporus Straits it is also connected to the Black Sea. Traditionally, the Mediterranean Sea has been a transit route for inner-European trade as well as imports from Africa and Asia (especially since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869). Due to its geographical proximity to North Africa and the Middle East as well as to the recent regional political crises in the course of the Arab rebellion and the Syrian Civil War, the Mediterranean once again highlights its historical, political, and economic importance for the maritime security of the EU. 1
In contrast to its political signifi cance for European security and economic prosperity, Europe’s decision-makers seem to have so far neglected its importance by displaying a sea-blindness that jeopardizes maritime security in the Mediterranean. In times of economic crisis, confl icts in the Middle East, the refugee crisis, and the deterioration of the EU-Russian relationship, various confl icts and security-related issues remain unsolved and receive only secondary attention in day-to-day politics. This chapter addresses these political, military, economic, societal, and environmental security issues associated with maritime security in the Mediterranean and intends to highlight the necessity for intensive political engagement in order to reduce risks and vulnerabilities that originate from Europe’s soft security/political underbelly. Whilst the possibility of classic symmetric inter-state confl ict with direct political and economic consequences for the EU cannot be excluded entirely, disputes concerning territorial, border, and exclusive economic zone (EEZ) issues still pose a direct threat to European security. Maritime security considers security and defense risks along with economic, energy policy, and ecological developments. Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, international maritime terrorism as well as pirate attacks (e.g. in the Gulf of Aden) have become major asymmetric threats in the maritime domain in the
twenty-fi rst century. While conventional naval capabilities are still the main focus, as Figure 9.1 shows, in light of recent security developments in the Mediterranean area, a trend of transformation that shifts the emphasis of Mediterranean naval platforms from expeditionary navies to more constabulary capabilities has emerged from 2008 to 2012.
