When Spanish Monarch Juan Carlos led a prominent delegation of businessmen and politicians to Morocco, it became clear that the balance affecting the aspirations of the states south of the Mediterranean Sea towards the rich North has been toppled, and that the time had come for the northern states to seek an outlet, found in their neighbors from which they are only separated by the sea. And after the idea of partnership with the European Union used to tempt those wishing to benefit from the commitments linked to the development aid – based on strict conditions combining the respect of human rights and compliance with the contractual values – the Europeans' search for spaces of mutual investment has become a primary concern. There is no direct connection between the revival of the project to link Africa and Europe via the Gibraltar Strait and the complications of the current crisis, as the hefty cost of such a strategically-significant project apart from the Channel Tunnel can only be known by generous donors capable of assessing the project's feasibility and the joint economic benefits it will generate. But what is noticeable is that the United Nations transferred the draft project to the Economic and Social Council in Geneva, in order to go over its pages that had almost been forgotten for more than two decades, amid conflicting opinions and estimates regarding its technical facets and economic revenues, especially for the European side. The studying of the project was thus postponed – without it being annulled – for political and social considerations, namely the fact that the EU states ratified the Schengen agreement to limit the flow of immigrants from the states of the South. Hence, this illegal immigration phenomenon became a security and political obsession within the European forums whenever the file of the relations with the southern states was mentioned. And the paradox is that Spain in particular, which is the closest to the African space, had installed barbed wires and early warning devices around the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in the context of a plan to limit the flow of immigrants. So how can it pave the way, whether above water or through a tunnel across the Mediterranean Sea, to link Africa and Europe? Only a dream can reconnect the land separated into two continents in ancient times, and only men can restore what nature could not. Indeed, major projects always wager on the defiance of nature, with the construction of anti-seismic buildings, the desalination of seawater, or the shortening of distances through high-speed supersonic aircrafts. However, a feasibility study is in order, since if the conquest of space had not enhanced the advanced worlds' monopolization over what is above and underneath the ground, there would not have been such exorbitant expenditures. Still, there are wagers and fears surrounding the project to link Africa and Europe. Between the facilitation of movement and the transportation of products and goods at a lower cost and a faster pace – which is related to the commercial and economic facet requiring the building of a giant bridge just like the highways that shortened the distances – and the increasing threat of illegal immigration and the flow of those fleeing hunger, illness and hardships in areas of tension and misery across the African map, a plan must be drawn up to put an end to this divergence, by solving the security and economic problems and crises of the African continent while preserving its free and independent political decision. Before thinking about erecting a giant bridge between the two continents, there should be a revolution in the transportations sector, allowing the African states to limit the distances between themselves. Indeed, it would be paradoxical to ratify such a giant and important project, without it being accompanied by major progress at the level of securing a transportation infrastructure going in line with the African populations' wish to open up and interact with each other. So far, the border disputes, the various customs' systems and the difficulty to move are among the most prominent obstacles hindering development in the African space. In addition, the logic of isolation and the closed borders are still prevalent when dealing with political disputes, knowing that the annulment of the barriers would help bridge the gap, while isolation would only widen it. The Europeans started to pave the way before unity by developing the transportation system, while the flow of iron and steel between Germany and France played a major role in overcoming deep historical and political disputes. Hence, the unity inclinations were linked to a wide political understanding. And at a time when the European preoccupation with the economic and commercial importance of the southern states – especially in Africa – is mounting, the populations in the Dark Continent are not meeting this preoccupation half way with a similar effort, at the very least by improving their relations and agreeing over the minimum level of considerations that cannot be harmed, namely economic complementarity and the support of the talks with the remaining partners in Europe and around the world. More importantly, the project to link Africa to Europe was not buried during times when the importance of the deep African mine was disregarded, and it will likely grow livelier the more Europe feels suffocated.
