{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.018569463548830812, 'fraction_numerical': 0.002751031636863824, 'mean_word_length': 5.087866108786611, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
The Mediterranean as a New Foreign Policy Challenge? Sweden and the Barcelona Process

Since the inception of the Barcelona Process in November 1995 particular attention has been paid to the involvement of the EU's southern member countries in the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP). Geographically close and historically tied to many of the states of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), they have attracted scholarly interest to a large extent whereas analysis of the contributions and interest of the northern member countries of the EU in the EMP is still in its infancy. By taking Sweden as a case study, this article takes the EU's northern enlargement into account and argues that the EMP nowadays also has an emerging northern dimension. The aim is to demonstrate that, while the Mediterranean as such is not high on the Swedish foreign policy agenda and while the discourse on Mediterranean issues is only weakly developed, Swedish engagement and interest in the Mediterranean has considerably increased since the country's accession to the EU. Sweden's arrival in the EU is still relatively recent and its Mediterranean policy is being influenced by both domestic politics and the current situation in the Middle East. None the less, the country's activities, particularly in the social and cultural basket of the EMP, could contribute to reduce the so-called North-South divide that many perceive to affect the EU's Mediterranean Policy.