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Morocco's 'Advanced Status': Model or muddle?

Kristina Kausch — 2010-03-16T22:57:22+01:00

The ‘advanced status’ of partnership underwent its first overhaul at the EU–Morocco summit in Granada on 6 and 7 March. Granted to Morocco by the EU in October 2008 via the adoption of a generally formulated roadmap, the new status foresees a substantial intensification of bilateral diplomatic and trade relations between the EU and Morocco. Southern European member states can potentially gain most from closer EU-Moroccan relations.

They must abandon their self-centred slide-rule mentality and value the ‘advanced status’ as a forward-looking attempt to tie Morocco to Europe. From a larger European perspective, as the first country to be granted this new status under the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), Morocco also becomes a key EU foreign policy laboratory in which the Union will hopefully develop a new, more attractive formula for its relations with neighbouring countries in the South where EU membership is not an option. In order for the ‘advanced status’ to fully develop its potential, both Morocco and the EU need to do their homework now: Morocco must commit to an advanced and measurable level of political and economic reform; and EU member states must start releasing those incentives that are most attractive to Morocco.

Iraq in 2010: The dangers of European complacency

Edward Burke — 2010-03-16T22:57:22+01:00

The Iraqi parliamentary elections on 7 March were the most severe test to date of the truce that emerged between the major factions during 2007 and 2008. The banning of Sunni and secular leaders from standing as candidates due to alleged links to the former ruling Ba’ath Party prompted calls for a boycott of the polls.

Although the attention of the international community has moved elsewhere, none of the major obstacles to ending the conflict in Iraq have been surmounted.

Meanwhile the EU’s strategy for Iraq remains hopelessly outdated and its influence in Iraq is virtually non-existent. Opting out of an enhanced role in Iraq undermines the EU’s claim to be a credible contributor to international security.

European conflict resolution policies: truncated peace-building

Fernanda Faria, Richard Youngs — 2010-03-16T22:57:22+01:00

Many documents have highlighted the importance of the ‘security, governance and development’ trinity to Europe’s attempts to temper conflict and state fragility. The European Security Strategy and its 2008 update both identify these linkages as pivotal to more effective EU conflict resolution.

Enough time has now passed for a stock-take and it is expected that considerable progress will have been made. Our analysis suggests, however, that European policies in situations of conflict or fragility remain ineffectual, often unduly narrow in scope and at odds with the EU’s declared holism.

Most criticism has focused on the problematic civil-military link in crisis management, yet it is in the broader politics of peacebuilding that European policies are most seriously deficient.

US policy towards the Middle East and its implications for EU policy

Ana Echagüe — 2010-03-16T22:57:22+01:00

US policy towards the Middle East under the Obama administration has not changed significantly, despite initial signals to the contrary. The US’s entrenched focus on security issues should urge the EU to incorporate the GCC into a broader Middle East strategy and help leverage the diplomatic and political potential the Gulf states have to offer.

A more proactive EU role which takes into account the Gulf states’ aspirations and builds on its credibility could go a long way towards re-establishing some of Europe’s lost influence in the region.

Into EurAsia: Monitoring the EU's Central Asia Strategy

Jos Boonstra, Michael Emerson — 2010-03-16T22:57:22+01:00

The EU Strategy for Central Asia was introduced in 2007 to upgrade the EU’s cooperation with the five states of the region: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Concerns in the EU over energy security and the war in Afghanistan dominated the political context at that time. But the strategy sought to take a broad and comprehensive approach, with priority actions addressing political dialogue, education, economic development, energy and transport links, human rights and the rule of law, drug trafficking, environmental sustainability and water, among other matters.

Into EurAsia – Monitoring the EU’s Central Asia Strategy offers the first assessment of this ambitious plan, undertaken by independent analysts from the EU and Central Asia within the context of the EUCAM project. The role of Russia, China, the US, Turkey, Iran and the other major players, as well as the current state of politics and economics in the region are all analysed through the prism of the EU Strategy.

While acknowledging the undoubted increase in the level of EU engagement in the region, the report underlines the need to sharpen the operational effectiveness of the strategy and formulates recommendations for all sectors, including human rights, security, energy, water supply, hydro-power and transport corridors.

Crucially, this report considers how the strategy for this region fits into the EU’s worldview. Coinciding as it does with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, Into EurAsia presents a test case of how the EU may shape up to meet its newly enhanced foreign policy responsibilities.

See executive summary

Why the European Union needs a 'broader Middle East' policy

Edward Burke, Ana Echagüe, Richard Youngs — 2010-03-16T22:57:22+01:00

European foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is highly fragmented. While a plethora of initiatives towards Maghreb and Mashreq countries have been developed, these are not contained within an overarching EU strategy for the Middle East.

Many member states insist upon the Mediterranean's separation from other dimensions of Middle Eastern policy as a positive distinction of European foreign policy. However, important trends now render the divide between Europe's Mediterranean and Gulf policies increasingly incongruous.

This paper concludes that it makes little sense for the EU to work against the grain of trends that see Gulf states increasingly active in and interdependent with Mediterranean states in addition to the US making efforts to re-engage more positively with the Arab world.

This Working Paper is supported by the European Commission under the Al-Jisr project and was presented by FRIDE at a conference organised by Istituto Affari Internazionali in Rome on 11-12 December 2009.