@Ithvan: I think the Mediterranean Union was an attempt to do for the Mediterranean Basin region (Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa) what the European Union did for Europe. It's not so much about who has a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea. The background is discussed here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_for_the_Mediterranean
Interestingly, the two countries you mention, Austria and Slovakia, while landlocked, do have access to the Mediterranean Sea (via the Black Sea, Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles) via the Danube River which is actually an international waterway (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube). There are many national interests and political considerations related to belonging to international organizations as the previous article discusses. |