At the G8 Summit of Sea Island George W. Bush launched a “Partnership for the Broader Middle East and North Africa”. His project for the development and democratization of the region builds on previous American and European initiatives. It deeply borrows from the concepts of the Barcelona Process initiated by the EU in 1995 aiming at a free-trade area in the Mediterranean. Are the US and EU projects complementary or rival? In spite of a common analysis of the political and economical challenges, the projects remain essentially separated. Moreover, while free trade provides the backbone of both development strategies for the region, the US and EU trade strategies are virtually conflicting. There is room for a more Transatlantic economic cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa, yet deep political divergences bar it in the near future.