The EU’s relations with the ‘Middle East Region’ actually cover three different but overlapping areas, each of which has its own peculiarities and distinctive relationship with Europe. They are the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf Region.  The Southern and the Eastern Mediterranean are covered by the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, which was initiated in 1995 in Barcelona. The partnership offers a framework of political, economic and social relations between EU Member States and the southern neighbours. The Barcelona Process aims to create a common area of peace and stability, based on the construction of a zone of prosperity and rapprochement between the peoples of the region. After 2004 ‘Association Agreements’ became the building blocks for integrating the existing partnership into the new European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) which encompasses all neighbours of the EU and thus brings the Mediterranean, Eastern and Caucasian neighbours under one common policy roof.
 
The Barcelona Process does not encompass the Middle East peace process but it does provide the only forum outside the UN where all conflict parties could meet and is regarded as being complementary to the peace process.  The EU’s policy supports the two-state solution as a final aim and insists on a just and fair solution to the status of Jerusalem and the situation of the Palestinian refugees. It also supports Syrian-Israeli and Lebanese-Israeli rapprochement. It enforces the peace process by participating in the Quartet and confidence-building measures between Israel and the Palestinians by supporting the border crossing mission in Gaza. Since 1996 the EU has appointed a Special Representative for the Middle East peace process who facilitates the implementation of EU policy on the ground.