The United States, the EEC and the Mediterranean: rivalry or complementarity?

Based on documentary evidences collected in different European and Us archives, this essay argues that in spite of US official support for the \u2018European pillar of the Atlantic alliance and the development of Europe as a political actor, the USA showed concern and dismay at the emergence of a \u2018Mediterranean policy\u2019 of the EEC. In US view, this was subjected to many caveats and limitations, as Washington accepted EEC economic support for some Mediterranean countries, but disliked formal political bounds such as \u2018association\u2019 and opposed preferential commercial bonds. This selective approach grew up into open opposition during the Nixon administration, when the Community launched a comprehensive regional approach to the area. Its implementation was severely impaired by the difficulty to reconciling it with American views