The flight of Tunisia’s President Ben Ali has underlined the tightrope many of the region’s leaders are treading. The Maghreb countries have a lot to lose if they stick with their current failure to integrate their economies, argues Larabi Jaidi

The southern Mediterranean looks set to bear the long-term brunt of the economic downturn in Europe, says George Joffé. He sets out the problems now facing many Arab countries and examines the ways that EU countries could lend a helping hand