In May 2005, I submitted a parliamentary initiative to the Slovenian government advocating for Slovenia’s active participation in the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly regarding the establishment of the Mediterranean University and the development of its programs. I also proposed that Slovenia seek to host its headquarters in Slovenian Istria. While the government’s response was relatively neutral, the initiative later gained traction. It was included in the Declaration on Guidelines for Slovenia’s Activities in EU Institutions for 2006, which was adopted by the National Assembly in March that year. The declaration identified Slovenia’s active participation in the establishment of the Mediterranean University as a priority.

The idea was further supported by the Prime Minister, Janez Janša, and in September 2006, his cabinet appointed a project team[1] tasked with preparing expert foundations for the establishment of an international Mediterranean University in Slovenia. The team was given a tight deadline to report back to the government by the end of November. This is an international and national, non-partisan project that should be unanimously supported by both the expert and civil public, as well as all political parties and the media, as hosting such an institution would be an exceptional opportunity for our country. It is not competition for our universities but rather an added value. Too often, we fail to recognize our Mediterranean position, and too frequently, we overlook the fact—clearly depicted in our coat of arms and flag—that Slovenia is a European country on the Mediterranean, on the seaside of Triglav!

The initiative to establish the Mediterranean University (one possible abbreviation being MEDUNI) was conceived within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, a framework fostered by the European Union and Mediterranean countries. Last November marked the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona Declaration, which initiated deepened cooperation between EU member states and their Mediterranean partners. Today, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership consists of 35 countries: 25 EU member states, and 10 Mediterranean countries from North Africa and the Middle East (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, and Turkey). In the near future, new members are expected to join, including Libya, Croatia, and possibly others.

Cooperation takes place intensively at both the intergovernmental level (ministerial meetings) and the parliamentary level, where dialogue has been further deepened with the establishment of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly (EMPA) in March 2004 in Athens. The National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia is represented in EMPA by a three-member delegation. EMPA operates through three standing committees, which focus on: (1) political cooperation and the establishment of a zone of peace and stability, (2) economic and social partnership, and (3) cultural cooperation, education, human resource development, and exchanges between civil societies.

At the first session of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly in March 2005 in Cairo, in addition to other goals, the adopted committee resolutions emphasized the importance of education, knowledge exchange, and inter-university cooperation within the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. In one of the resolutions, the idea or initiative for the establishment of the Mediterranean University was recorded for the first time within the third pillar of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (cooperation in the fields of culture, improving quality of life, and exchanges between civil societies and cultures). However, at this stage, it did not include a concrete university program or other organizational details.

At this point, it may not be out of place to offer a bit of self-praise—the Slovenian delegation in the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly has consistently advocated for the establishment of such a university in all meetings so far, and in bilateral discussions, has particularly highlighted the possibility of Slovenia hosting its headquarters. Practically everyone was enthusiastic…

Political and Legal Foundations for the Mediterranean University

In the resolution of one of the committees of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, adopted on March 15, 2005, in Cairo, the initiative for the establishment of the Mediterranean University was unanimously supported as a meeting point of Islamic, European, and other cultures, as well as an opportunity for joint education and intellectual growth in the strategically and globally significant Mediterranean region.

The resolution states that the committee emphasizes the “central importance of cooperation at the university level within the third pillar of cooperation and therefore calls for the strengthening of exchanges between faculties and students and highlights that the potential establishment of the Mediterranean University could positively contribute to more effective coordination among various participating actors.”

The idea of establishing the Mediterranean University was once again included in the Resolution of the Committee on Improving Quality of Life, Human, and Cultural Exchanges of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, which met in Rabat from November 21 to 22, 2005, during a special plenary session marking the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona Process. The committee supported the decision “to extend the Erasmus Mundus and Tempus programs to the Mediterranean partner countries of the European Union and called for greater cooperation between universities in the northern and southern Mediterranean, which could lead to the establishment of the Mediterranean University.”

On the tenth anniversary of the Barcelona Process, at the summit of heads of state and government of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership in Barcelona on November 27 and 28, 2005, a five-year work program was adopted, which included a special section dedicated to education and human and cultural exchanges. Within this framework, emphasis was placed on ensuring appropriate scholarship programs for university students from Euro-Mediterranean partner countries and increasing exchanges among university faculty.

Finally, we know and look forward to the fact that Slovenia will hold the presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2008, in a period declared as the Year of Intercultural Dialogue, which will also be one of the priorities of our presidency. The establishment of the Mediterranean University as a meeting point of Islamic, European, and other cultures and an opportunity for joint education and intellectual growth in the strategically and globally significant Mediterranean region could thus serve as one of the concrete expressions of intercultural dialogue and, of course, as an additional political, cultural, and economic opportunity for Slovenia, which we must not miss.

Mission and Opportunities for Slovenia

The university should primarily be a research institution, engaged in European and broader international projects. At the same time, it would offer a postgraduate program with a diverse selection of mandatory and elective courses, all centered around a Mediterranean focus (e.g., Mediterranean art, culture, architecture, ethnology and history, maritime law, transport and logistics in the Mediterranean, economics, political science, defense studies, security sciences, etc.).

The target students would be government officials, diplomats, and others whose work is related to the Mediterranean. One of the first postgraduate programs could be a modern distance-learning course for advanced border-policing management, developed by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) and already conducted in Slovenia on behalf of this institution. According to preliminary discussions, the “DCAF team” is ready to cooperate…

Based on informal “inquiries” so far, I also conclude that we can count on support from the International Maritime Law Institute (IMO IMLI) in Malta and the University of Malta, as well as on the collaboration of the influential Maltese lawyer and professor David Attard. It turns out that it’s not so much about “know-how” as it is about “whom you know how well“!

The university would not compete with any Slovenian or foreign university; on the contrary, it could collaborate with all of them. It would be funded by European sources, through projects, and possibly with support from the private sector. The university’s headquarters could be located in Piran (e.g., in the building reportedly vacated by Gea College), in Portorož (in the Droga Portorož building), or possibly elsewhere, but most likely somewhere along the Slovenian coast. At this stage, it is difficult to assess the number of permanent staff, but in any case, the emphasis would be on external experts from other domestic and foreign universities, who would contribute to its operations.

Next Steps

Slovenia must therefore immediately begin actively lobbying for the establishment of the Mediterranean University with its headquarters in our country. The project team will (as I will strive for!) prepare all the necessary expert foundations and assist in gaining international support. Discussions should take place with the President of the European Parliament, Mr. Borrell (who previously presided over EMPA), European Commissioner Dr. Potočnik, our MEPs, and possibly other prominent European politicians. At that point, the project team could expand internationally, increasing its credibility.

In the next phase, it would be necessary to gain the support of ambassadors from some major powers (primarily the USA and Russia), as well as from North African and Middle Eastern countries, where Slovenia enjoys a strong reputation. Slovenia would undoubtedly have an advantage over former colonial powers, as well as a geographical advantage (for example, Malta lacks road and rail connections to the rest of the Mediterranean).

We must act quickly, as Croatia will soon join EMPA and would likely do everything possible to secure the headquarters of such a prestigious research and educational institution as the Mediterranean University.

The next EMPA session is expected in early 2007, and by then, the Slovenian delegation could present a comprehensive proposal for the university’s establishment and its headquarters in Slovenia—with prior lobbying ensuring the support of a sufficient number of countries.

The opportunity is at hand, and I sincerely hope that we will embrace it rather than crush it…

[1] The project team is led by State Secretary Prof. Dr. Dušan Lesjak, with some of the most active members being Dr. Andrej Rahten, Dr. Nada Trunk, and the Vice President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, Prof. Dr. Marko Pavliha.