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Is Europe adrift in the Middle East?
26/11/2007 By Mariano Aguirre, 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 EastBio author: Mariano Aguirre
Mariano Aguirre is Director of the Norwegian Peacebuilding Centre in Oslo, and a fellow of the Transnational Institute. Former Director of Peace, Security and Human Rights at FRIDE.
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.
