Europe and the Middle East

Research Group on European Affairs

02.06.2008 · C·A·P

Political Context

After decades of political, economic and social stagnation, a new dynamic of transition characterizes the Middle East region. In this regard, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the future of Lebanon, the stabilization of Iraq, the Iranian nuclear program, the establishment of collective-security structures in the Gulf region and the support for democratization in the region are paramount challenges. The stabilization of this adjacent area is not only in Europe's interest, but also constitutes a crucial contribution to world peace.

The increasing strategic relevance of the Middle East is well documented by a growing number of European initiatives, including:

• The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP)

• The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP)

• The EU's Role in the Middle East Peace Process (Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East Quartet)

• The signing of a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (as of 2007)

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) is the most comprehensive and far-reaching policy the EU has developed with neighbouring countries in the Mediterranean area, with the declared long-term goal of step by step establishing an area of regional security and free trade. However, more than ten years after the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, an assessment of what has been achieved so far is disappointing. Although the EMP was never envisaged as a short-term solution for the multitude of problems in the area, thus far its results have clearly failed to meet expectations. The EMP is complemented by the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) developed in 2004. Its predominant bilateral approach reflects in a sense the failure of the multilateral Barcelona design. Its objective is to establish a ring of prosperous, stable and secure neighbouring countries around the EU. The ENP promises to go beyond existing relationships by offering a deeper political and economic relationship, based on bilateral action plans. These action plans, which a number of partner countries have already concluded with the EU, list a large number of cooperation activities including short and medium-term measures. However, it remains to be seen whether the EU will be able to offer clear incentives to stimulate the implementation of the programs in the neighbouring countries.

Against this backdrop, the project "EU and the Middle East" identifies seven key challenges the EU-Middle Eastern relations are facing today:

1. The blocking potential of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
   First and foremost the ongoing confrontation between Israel on the one hand and Palestine, the Arab world and Iran on the other hand is the pivotal impediment to development towards stability and peace in the Middle East.

2. The Impact of State Failure
   Poverty, regional and sectarian conflicts, and terrorism threaten the stability of the Middle East region. Countries like Lebanon, Iraq or the Palestinian territories seem too weak to tackle these challenges. Even an erosion of power in Egypt, Syria and Libya seems possible to appear in the near future as Islamic groups have the potential to destabilize these authoritarian regimes.

3. An increasing Islamization of society and politics
   Globalization poses enormous challenges to every society. The peoples of the Middle East region strive to be more substantially involved in the political and economic development of their respective countries. Under this pressure religious extremism is growing in the Arab world. Yet, in a lot of riparian states of the Mediterranean Sea Islamic movements are the only political alternative to the present regimes.

4. A New Armament Race in the Gulf Region
   The security situation in the Gulf region is deteriorating noticeably and becomes increasingly complicated. Conflict potential and an atmosphere of mistrust between the actors are on the rise because of the civil-war-like conditions in parts of Iraq and the controversy around Iran's nuclear program. Until now there is no sub-regional framework of cooperation and security that could serve as a forum for dialogue.

5. Transition of Arab States
   Sustainable economic and political reforms in the Arabic world are key to stability and peace in the Middle East. In the last two decades, a number of Arab states have opened up economically. However, these reforms did not have the expected overall impact on the ground.

6. Widening Gaps
   The relation between the EU and the Middle East region is dominated by new social and economic disparities: It includes both Europe and Israel with a high rate of GDP, the oil-rich economies in the Gulf and countries that are resource-scarce but rich in population, such as Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Turkey and Iran are positioned in-between these two extremes.

7. The EU as a role model
   The EU is a factor to be reckoned with in world politics not only because of its economic strength. Its international significance derives also from the fact that voluntary pooling of sovereignty provides a model that radiates not only to the periphery of Europe but far beyond. For a lot of Arab elites the EU serves as a successful role model for regional integration. Nevertheless, people in the Middle East region are still living with their colonial heritage and feel threatened by a domination of the United States and Europe.

Aims - Strategies - Partners

The purpose of the project "EU and the Middle East" jointly conducted by the Center for Applied Policy Research (C·A·P) and the Bertelsmann Stiftung is to outline a new approach for future EU relations with the Middle East and to provide strategic answers to the challenges in its neighbourhood.

Based on thirteen years of experience of the renowned Kronberg Middle East Talks organized since 1995 by the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the main emphasis of the project is to engage key actors from Europe, the US and the Middle East region in thoughtful dialogue. Every year experts discuss options and develop strategies for the above mentioned central questions in a number of workshop formats. These strategies, combined with the expertise of the project's researchers in Munich and Gütersloh, are discussed on high level on the occasion of the "Kronberg Middle East Talks" by decision-makers and key actors of politics, diplomacy, academia, journalism and business on an eighteen months basis. Thanks to its prominent participants as well as its tradition and renown confidential atmosphere the "Kronberg Middle East Talks" provide - even in times of severe crises - a unique platform for political dialogue for the Middle East.

For an overview on the countries covered within the 'Europe and the Middle East' project click through the country list in the left column of this page. You will find basic statistic data and related links.

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