The Germans were deeply angered earlier this year by Mr Sarkozy's original plan for a Mediterranean Union that would have excluded them, as they have no shoreline on the sea.

ECONOMIST: Nicolas Sarkozy

Mr Babacan says France's President Nicolas Sarkozy tried to push Turkey into accepting an alternative to EU membership by launching his plan for a "Mediterranean Union" of EU and neighbouring states.

BBC: Turkey's EU bid runs into trouble

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Sarkozy held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who will be a key player in the French leader's plan for a union of Mediterranean states.

BBC: Syria, Lebanon to open embassies

In July, Sarkozy hosted the inaugural meeting of the "Union for the Mediterranean" in Paris.

FORBES: Magazine Article

On the Union for the Mediterranean, there was no agreement on financing, nor even on where the club should be based.

ECONOMIST: The Mediterranean Union

France, Spain and four others plead for more spending in the south and boosting the Union for the Mediterranean, with few or no conditions.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

Despite current economic difficulties, Spain's political system has generally demonstrated greater maturity in recent decades when compared to other Mediterranean states in the European Union.

CNN: After the bailout, Spain needs to rise to the challenge

Drawing support from the European Commission, the Union for the Mediterranean, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the effort is intended to help fund pilot projects across the region that work towards the Mediterranean Solar Plan adopted in 2008.

FORBES: Europe Works To Preserve Mediterranean Green Promise