This report was prepared in response to a request by the European Commission. It analyses the role of inter-cultural initiatives in the process of building a EuroMediterranean Community of Democratic States, on the basis of an assessment of the so-called Danish “cartoons crisis” and the “clash of civilisations” debate. The Report focuses on the repercussions of the “cartoons row” in the Euro-Mediterranean area without taking reactions further afield into account.

It was coordinated and drafted by Álvaro de Vasconcelos, drawing on commissioned papers by Mustafa Akyol, Amr ElShobaki, Abdelali Hamidine, Ulla Holm, Rania Safar, and further contributions from George Joffé and Bárbara Direito, as well as comments by Abdallah Saaf.