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Middle East & North Africa / Other publications

Is Europe adrift in the Middle East?

26/11/2007 By Mariano Aguirre Ernst, Mark Taylor

Participants in a Madrid roundtable organized by FAFO (Norway) and FRIDE in October were highly skeptical about the future political events in the Middle East and particularly in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Yet they also recognized  that the region needs an independent European voice as never before. This is likely to remain the case for as long as the  U.S. pursues policies that  polarize the region and fail to create the political space necessary for parties at war – or on  the brink of war – to seek commom ground through negotiations.

Europe cannot become a substitute for the U.S. Still, as a series of interrelated conflicts looms, it is high time for it to play a more active and constructive role lest it find itself a passive witness to, and a principal victim of, dangerous and misguided policies.

This Policy Brief was written for the U.S. / Middle East Project.

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Keywords

EU Foreign Policy European Union Gaza Strip and West Bank Israel MEPP Middle East

Bio author: Mariano Aguirre Ernst

Mariano Aguirre has been Director of the Centro de Investigación para la Paz, in Madrid, and Coordinator of programmes on peace and conflicts at the Ford Foundation, in New York. Mariano Aguirre publishes articles in various media in Spain and internationally such as OpenDemocracy, Le monde diplomatique, El Correo, La Vanguardia, Maniere de voir, AlertNet, Enjeux Internationaux, Temas, El País, Política Exterior, Debate, BBC World Service, Radio Netherland, Radio Nacional de España, Radio France International, Mediterranean Politics and CNN Spain.

Bio author: Mark Taylor

B.A (Religious Studies, History); LL.M (Public International Law). His key working areas are: war economies, peace operations, international organisations, international law, human rights, security, Middle East.