Reassessing Euro-Mediterranean Relations in a Fragmented Global Order: The New Pact for the Mediterranean and the Role of External Powers

In the aftermath of multiple regional and global transformations, Euro-Mediterranean relations are undergoing a profound reconfiguration. The European Union’s recently proposed New Pact for the Mediterranean aims to revitalise cooperation with its southern neighbours by addressing shared challenges such as energy transition, irregular migration, climate change, and regional instability. However, this renewed EU engagement unfolds in an increasingly multipolar environment, where other external actors (e.g. the United States, China, Russia, Turkey and the Gulf countries) are intensifying their presence and influence across the Mediterranean. This raises critical questions about the EU’s capacity to act as a coherent and effective geopolitical actor in its immediate neighbourhood. This paper aims to reassess the trajectories of Euro-Mediterranean relations through the lens of the evolving regional order and contested influence . It seeks to examine how the New Pact for the Mediterranean redefines the EU’s strategic vision for the region, and to what extent it can overcome the shortcomings of previous frameworks such as the Barcelona Process or the European Neighbourhood Policy. Furthermore, the paper invites analyses of how competing external powers (from China’s infrastructure investments and digital diplomacy, to Russia’s military engagement and energy politics, to the Gulf states’ financial and ideological influence) reshape regional alignments and challenge the EU’s normative, institutional and geopolitical ambitions. By engaging with debates on actorness, strategic autonomy, regional governance, economic statecraft and multipolarity, the paper seeks to bridge empirical and theoretical approaches to the study of Euro-Mediterranean politics/relations.