Europe in the Middle East / Other publications
Europe: a new role in the Middle East?
06/11/2007 By Publicaciones FRIDE
In collaboration with Casa de Galicia in Madrid, FRIDE has launched a new series of conferences under the Chatham House Rule, with the participation of Henry Siegman, Director of the US/Middle East Project, lecturer on Middle East issues at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) at the University of London and non-resident researcher at FRIDE.
The inaugural debate was entitled “Europe, a New Role in the Middle East?” and participants included a select group of experts, academics, politicians and journalists, as well as Spanish and European officials.
After exploring the latest developments in the run-up to the conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November, it was noted that even though expectations of a definitive solution to the conflict may not be very high, an exact definition of what a two-state solution would mean can be expected.
In addition, and taking into account the lack of proactivity on the part of the international community in relation to the conflict – the main consequence of which has been the imposition of Israeli “solutions”, given the imbalance of power in relation to Palestine – Mr Siegman called on European countries to play a more active role in the resolution of the conflict.
He said the time had come, not least because of urgent security needs, for Europe to move beyond the traditional role of protectors of moral values that characterised all its international actions.
Noting that any European initiative could not be ignored by one of the main actors in the conflict, the United States, Mr Siegman also argued for the promotion of bilateral initiatives, where multilateral options had been half-hearted, and for Europe to do more than just share in the desire for peace.
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FRIDE in Casa de GaliciaKeywords
EU Foreign Policy European Union International relations MEPP Middle EastRelated publications
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