Introduction

Algeria has always had an ambiguous relationship to the Mediterranean and
difficult relations with France. Due to a long colonization that
confiscated the sea, and his constant desire to leadership in the Maghreb, a
sometimes excessive caution marked the Algerian position vis-à-vis any
European initiative relating to this regional area. A fortiori, when
it emanates from the former colonial power, the inertia and reminiscences
the past often outweigh reason and common interests.
From the Barcelona Process to the Union for the Mediterranean (UPM)
Algeria has fueled skepticism and equivocation. But oppose a
end of inadmissibility, she asked each time the conditions for membership,
by changing its position in a pragmatic way. With respect to the UPM
Specifically, Algeria has been true to its "conditionalities". different
official or media outlets the Algerian authorities on the new
European initiative can detect roughly four themes that arise
problem and that conditioned somehow the attitude of this country:
conflicts in the Mediterranean, the movement of people, the place in
the organization of the UPM and of course, the issue of memory with
France.