The EEC and the Mediterranean Countries

This symposium seeks to redress the balance by examining systematically the whole nexus of economic relations which links the countries of the Mediterranean area with the EEC.

It has become fashionable to depict the EEC as a protectionist, 'inward-looking' rich men's club and to dismiss its trade and aid policies as a subtle form of neo-colonialist exploitation. But less attention has been paid to the precise impact which trade relations with the EEC have had on the Community's associates. This symposium seeks to redress the balance by examining systematically the whole nexus of economic relations which links the countries of the Mediterranean area with the EEC. The community's policies and particularly the so-called 'global approach' and the dependence of the Nine on migrant labour are examined. But the main emphasis is on the impact which this relationship has on the economic development of the Mediterranean countries themselves. Consequently, the books sheds light on a question which has received scant attention in the literature on international trade, namely, what are the effects of association and trade preference agreements between countries which are at different stages of their economic development?