Security of the Euro-Mediterranean region 43. The geographical location, economic-trade flows and also the interconnection of cultural history, place our nation at the centre of a large and complex geopolitical area, with its own clearly defined characteristics known as the Euro-Mediterranean area. It is made up of very different political, social, economic, cultural and religious systems. The area is unified through the sharing of the Mediterranean basin. 44. The Mediterranean basin joins five areas each bearing different characteristics: the European Union countries, the Balkans, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean area of the Middle East and the Maghreb. In some of these areas, fundamental economic, political and social unrest gave rise to new and violent criminality as well as bloody civil wars. Terrorism and transnational uprisings have taken root: illegal immigration and militant proselytizing are seen as a potential means of expansion into Europe. These issues and the dependence on some of these countries for energy, make the stability of the Euro-Mediterranean region of vital national interest. 45. It is precisely in the Euro-Mediterranean region that traditional state structures are weakening and social and cultural models in alternative to democracy are being pursued. In recent times, this phenomenon has been exacerbated by the birth of some groups, taking control over entire areas exercising civil, military, economic and judicial power. Moreover, the use of globalized information allows these groups to successfully export their own model, with consequent spreading rapidly of their belief, easily replicated even at great geographical distance. 46. The evolution of terrorism aiming only at undermining the solidity of existing institutions to fully and officially replace them is particularly alarming. Terrorism which can rely on state-type support, albeit unrecognised by the international com- - 27 -