The importance of the Mediterranean four
The Geopolitical Pickle
Today, we are back to our series on regionalism, looking at a few European countries that are perhaps not so unfamiliar with the recent heatwave affecting the continent - Southern Europe.
Southern Europe, which includes Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece, has a unique geopolitical position between Europe, the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, North Africa and the Middle East.
Even if traditionally perceived as Europe’s periphery, the region has become central to European and transatlantic security because of its geographical location and its role as a bridge between continents. More recent developments, such as the increased migratory pressure across the Mediterranean, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Moscow leading to Europe’s search for alternative energy suppliers, and renewed great power competition, have all further increased the strategic relevance of Southern Europe. The geopolitical importance of Southern Europe comes not only from its strategic geographical position but also from its growing role as a security, energy and connectivity link between Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Atlantic.
Southern Europe’s geopolitical significance is primarily determined by its geography. Historically, control over the Mediterranean was a fundamental source of political influence, commercial prosperity and military power, a dynamic which is still important today. As a result, Southern Europe functions as the European Union’s southern maritime frontier and provides access to some of the world’s busiest trade routes connecting Europe with Asia and Africa through the Mediterranean and the Suez Canal.
From the Atlantic to the Suez Canal
Each of the four Southern European states has a different role in this. Portugal represents Europe’s Atlantic gateway, with its maritime orientation historically linking Europe to the Americas and Africa. Spain is located between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, controlling access to the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints. Moreover, Spain still has exclaves on the African Northern shore, Ceuta and Melilla, giving Madrid a direct territorial foothold on the North African coast. Italy, with its North deeply connected with Europe’s industrial heart and its islands located in the centre of the Mediterranean, serves as a natural bridge between continental Europe and North Africa, whereas Greece occupies the eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea, placing it at the intersection of European, Balkan and Middle Eastern geopolitical dynamics.
This has made the region very important not only for trade and transportation but also for European security, energy diversification after 2022, and the projection of political influence across the wider Mediterranean area.
The region’s southern and eastern flanks are close to several areas of long-lasting instability. Conflicts in Libya and Syria, political instability across the Sahel and organised crime and terrorism have all produced security challenges that directly affect Southern European states while the region plays a central role in NATO’s efforts to strengthen border security, maritime surveillance and crisis management.
Migration represents one of the most visible geopolitical challenges for Southern Europe. Italy, Greece and Spain represent the principal entry points for migrants and asylum seekers attempting to reach the EU across the Mediterranean. Managing these external borders has become a central component of European security policy, requiring closer cooperation with neighbouring countries and greater coordination through agencies such as Frontex.
Mediterranean Migration routes from ECFR
Despite there being a decline in irregular migration to the EU since the peak in the mid 2010s, the Mediterranean remains one of the world’s deadliest and busiest migration corridors. The Southern European states continue to face considerable external and domestic pressure in managing these arrivals with outreach to North African states often framed around this issue. Recent increased cooperation between Spain and Morocco has contributed to reducing migration flows along the Western Mediterranean route, proving how migration has become closely linked to broader diplomatic and security relationships.
Agriculture
Agriculture has historically been one of Southern Europe’s defining sources of wealth, identity and strategic and cultural relevance. The Mediterranean agricultural model, built around olives, grapes, wheat, citrus, vegetables and maritime trade, shaped the region’s settlement patterns, rural economies and export links with the rest of Europe. Today, Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal remain central to the EU’s food system, supplying large shares of the bloc’s olive oil, wine, fruit, vegetables and other high-value Mediterranean produce. These sectors are not onlt economically important, but also deeply tied to tourism, cultural identity, rural employment and the region’s wider export profile.
However, this agricultural strength is increasingly exposed to climate change. Southern Europe faces worsening heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and water scarcity, all of which threaten crop yields and raise production costs. This matters far beyond the region itself. If olive oil, wine, fruit, vegetables and other Mediterranean exports become more expensive or less reliable, the effects will be felt across EU food markets. The result is likely to be higher prices, greater pressure on irrigation infrastructure, more competition between agriculture, tourism and urban water use, and a gradual shift in what can be grown profitably in Europe’s southern flank. In this sense, agriculture is becoming not only an economic issue, but also a central question over future climate resilience and food and water security as average temperatures continue to rise.
Trade, energy, and security
The geopolitical importance of Southern Europe has been further reinforced by its growing role in European energy supply strategy. As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the sanctions that followed, the EU has sought to diversify its energy supplies, turning Southern Europe into a strategic gateway for alternative sources of natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), connecting European markets with North Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean and global energy producers.
Each of the four Southern European countries contributes differently to this situation. Spain has one of Europe’s largest LNG import capabilities and maintains important gas interconnections with Algeria, making it a key entry point for North African energy supplies. Italy has strengthened its role as a Mediterranean energy hub through pipeline connections with Algeria and Libya while expanding LNG infrastructure to diversify imports. Greece has become increasingly important through the development of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), the Alexandroupolis LNG terminal, and projects aimed at transporting gas from the Caspian region and the Eastern Mediterranean into Southeast Europe. Although Portugal plays a more limited role in pipeline networks, its Atlantic ports and LNG terminals also help with the diversification of European energy supplies.
African-European gas infrastructure from New Lines Institute
Southern Europe is also becoming important in Europe’s attempt to build a green hydrogen economy. Green hydrogen, produced using renewable electricity, could eventually help replace fossil gas in hard-to-electrify sectors such as heavy industry, fertilisers, shipping fuels and energy storage. The Iberian Peninsula is especially important through projects such as H2Med, which aims to connect Portugal and Spain with France and eventually wider European markets. North African states such as Morocco and Mauritania have attempted to position themselves as producers of low cost green hydrogen for export to Europe using upgraded pipelines, ports, and electricity infrastructure with support from the EU. There is an important caveat. Green hydrogen is currently expensive, infrastructure is incomplete, and large scale production has the potential to place increased competition over land use and worsen existing water stress.
Beyond energy imports, Southern Europe’s strategic ports and maritime infrastructure have gained increasing geopolitical significance. Major ports across the Mediterranean Sea connect Europe with global maritime trade routes and serve as important hubs for energy transport and commercial shipping. Increasing competition with external actors, particularly China, through investments in port infrastructure, and Russia through its traditional influence in Mediterranean energy markets, has further shown the strategic importance of these assets. Energy infrastructure, maritime connectivity and transport corridors have become central components of both European economic resilience and broader geopolitical competition.
The Mediterranean Sea and Southern Europe have become once again an arena of great power competition. China’s economic presence has attracted increasing attention, especially through its investment in the Greek port of Piraeus, one of the main gateways for Chinese trade into Europe and part of the Belt and Road Initiative. In early 2025, the US intensified scrutiny of COSCO, the Chinese company controlling the port, highlighting broader concerns about the geopolitical implications of Chinese ownership of strategic infrastructure.
Russia still attempts to influence the Mediterranean through energy diplomacy and its relations with countries in North Africa and the Middle East, with a military presence and partner networks in Libya and Syria. Meanwhile, Greece and Italy have tried to strengthen cooperation with Libya and Tunisia on maritime boundaries and migration management, showing how regional security, energy exploration and diplomacy have become increasingly interconnected. Consequently, Southern Europe has evolved into a strategic space where the interests of the EU increasingly intersect with those of external or regional actors such as Russia, the US, Turkey, Israel and Egypt. The result is a crowded geopolitical arena in which energy, migration, ports, maritime security and diplomatic influence are all intertwined.
In conclusion, Southern Europe has become one of Europe’s and NATO’s most strategically important regions due to its unique position at the crossroads of the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, North Africa. Its role in migration flows management, energy diversification, global maritime trade and competition from the world’s superpowers have given the region a renewed relevance. As the geopolitical competition intensifies Southern Europe is likely to remain a key arena where security, economic interests and geopolitical influence converge. This will continue to shape both regional stability and Europe’s wider strategic position in the international system.
No comments:
Post a Comment