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MENA

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a fragmented region: in spite of its relative cultural and historical homogeneity, it has some of the lowest levels of intra-regional trade, political cooperation and legal migration in the world.

This is largely due to the fact that, since the end of the Second World War, it has experienced the full spectrum of political violence. Conventional, hybrid, and civil wars, revolutions, and terrorism have hindered political and economic development, and created fertile ground for further violence. Breaking this ‘conflict trap’ is imperative for the states of the region, as well as those actors who have a stake in it.

For the EU, the MENA is of strategic importance for three reasons:

  • it is an immediate geographic neighbour,
  • a crucial passage for goods traveling to and from Europe (including oil and gas),
  • and it has been historically unstable.

The region’s security and economic situation is consequently closely intertwined with that of Europe. This explains the Union’s desire to contribute to regional stability through different means such as the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), the Barcelona Process and the Union for the Mediterranean.

The EUISS seeks to contribute to the EU’s overall effort in the MENA by providing in-depth analyses on a number of key issues affecting the region.

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    06January 2011
    Les éléctions législatives égyptiennes : une nouvelle forme d'autoritarisme ?
    By

    Le rideau est tombé sur les élections législatives égyptiennes, considérées par les observateurs comme l’une des pires élections en Égypte depuis le retour du « pluralisme contrôlé » en 1967. Parmi les sept scrutins (1979, 1984, 1987, 1990, 1995, 2000 et 2005), le pire fut celui de 1995, marqué par l’absence de supervision judiciaire, laquelle était connue pour son intégrité et sa relative indépendance vis-à-vis du pouvoir exécutif.

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    17December 2010
    European involvement in the Arab-Israeli conflict
    Edited by

    The past year has seen new setbacks in efforts to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict, while 2011 is hailed by many as a key year for moving towards a two-state solution. This paper aspires to make a timely contribution to policy thinking on European involvement in the conflict by focusing attention on a number of cross-cutting issues, challenges and opportunities for the EU.

  • 10November 2010
    EU-Washington Forum 2010: giving new impetus to the EU-US agenda

    The third annual EU-Washington Forum, held on 8-9 November 2010 in Washington DC, addressed the challenge of strengthening the EU-US relationship post Lisbon and explored options for reinvigorating the common agenda.

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    02November 2010
    Violence politique et paix dans le monde arabe
    By

    L’ancien concept de « sécurité nationale arabe », que l’on croyait définitivement condamné après la disparition progressive des régimes d’obédience nationaliste arabe, perdure, voire même se renouvelle. Qu’en est-il aujourd’hui des conceptions et doctrines ? Que reste-t-il des représentations liées à la problématique de l’État postcolonial, qui avaient prévalu dans le monde arabe au cours des décennies précédentes ?

  • 28October 2010
    Security and defence in the Mediterranean: a shared approach for the Mediterranean and its neighbourhood

    Taking place at the Pedralbes Palace in Barcelona, the EU Institute for Security Studies collaborated with the Centro de Estudios y Documentación Internacionales de Barcelona (CIDOB) for this seminar which aims to promote dialogue and debate among experts on Mediterranean issues.

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    01October 2010
    Transforming the Quartet principles: Hamas and the Peace Process
    By

    In this paper, the author seeks to find a way of overcoming the constraints that the EU has imposed upon itself by insisting on simultaneous adherence to the three Quartet principles. Goerzig looks at what room for manoeuvre there remains for the EU and how the Quartet conditions can be modified to facilitate rather than obstruct compliance.

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    20September 2010
    A deeper Free Trade Area and its potential economic impact
    By

    Since 1976, the policies of the EU towards the countries of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) evolved from giving unilateral trade preferences in favour of industrial exports of the Partnership countries to greater financial aid, greater commercial reciprocity and non-economic aspects.

  • 16September 2010
    The challenge of Middle East peace and regional security: should we change the strategy?

    This preparatory seminar for the EU-Washington Forum 2010 focused on understanding the deadlock and connections in the Middle East Peace Process and on considering alternative options for conflict resolution in the US and EU for the Arab-Israeli conflict and resolving the stand-off with Iran.

  • 09August 2010
    State and society: the democratic challenge
    By

    In this ninth paper in the 10 Papers for Barcelona series, the authors argue that policy-making on Euro-Mediterranean relations needs to pay more attention to the domestic sphere as the key arena in which both identity and democracy evolve.

  • 02July 2010
    The EU and the Middle East peace process: between pessimism and optimism

    This EUISS taskforce took place in Paris and focused on the EU's strategy towards the Middle East Peace Process and what policy options are available to it in the ongoing situation.

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  • 01October 2006
    Multilateralism in the Middle East
    By

    This summer, war swept across the parched lands of the Middle East. Once more, and with a terrible feeling of déjà vu, we were contemplating a fully-fledged, conventional war in Israel and Lebanon. And then, almost unexpectedly, war gave way to a ceasefire and to a fragile peace. This rapid shift – a sign of our hasty times – was the product of several causes.

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    01October 2006
    Leçons du Liban
    By

    Qui aurait cru, un an après le marasme politique issu des « non » au référendum sur la Constitution, que l’Union allait devenir, en quelques mois, l’un des acteurs indispensables pour la stabilisation des crises, notamment au Moyen-Orient ?

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    01September 2006
    Turkey's foreign policy in turbulent times
    By

    Today, Turkey is caught between two sets of challenges. The first set includes the typical conventional challenges that relate to national security, territorial integrity and political stability. The second set of challenges has to do with maintaining the pace of political reform.

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    01August 2006
    Mid-term elections in the US: in the shadow of Iraq
    By

    The approaching mid-term elections (due to take place on 7 November) to both Houses of the Congress and a number of state governorships may deliver a considerable change in the US and have an impact on its foreign policy.

  • 01July 2006
    Dialogue with Iran: the EU way out of the impasse
    By

    From the mid-1990s onwards, the EU followed a unique policy approach in order to engage the Islamic Republic of Iran. Recognising the country's geostrategic position and its importance as an energy supplier, EU countries embraced a policy of dialogue.

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    01July 2006
    La PESC, entre l'Iran et la Constitution
    By

    This edition of the EUISS newsletter 'ISSues' includes articles about the Iranian constitution, the EU's soft power in the Balkans, and EU dialogue with Iran.

  • 01June 2006
    Islamistische Realität — Fundamentalisten feiern einen Wahlsieg nach dem andern. Auf welche Strategien soll der Westen nun setzen?
    By

    Der Wahlsieg der fundamentalistischen Hamas in Palästina kommt nicht überraschend. Befremden muss eher das ungläubige Erstaunen, mit dem der Wahlausgang im Westen aufgenommen wurde. Schließlich war die jahrzehntelange Misswirtschaft der Fatah selbst Außenstehenden bekannt. Genauso wenig war es ein Geheimnis, dass Hamas aufgrund ihres sozialen Engagements großes Ansehen in der zunehmend verarmenden palästinensischen Bevölkerung genoss.

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    15May 2006
    Mobilising EU - US foreign policy co-operation: EU Diplomacy, the Middle East and Eastern Europe
    By

    It is the general perception in Washington that EU-US relations are on the road to recovery after Iraq, though overall interest in the EU remains moderate in the United States. The EU needs to capitalise more systematically on the fact that its opinions on Iran are listened to in Washington. In this way, the EU can contribute to and influence the American debate.

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    01May 2006
    Iranian challenges
    By

    It is no exaggeration to say that the Islamic Republic of Iran has posed a challenge to the West since the very day of its inception. However, since 2002, concerns about Iran's nuclear issue have further worsened relations, to such an extent that the US identified Iran as a main security challenge in its National Security Strategy of March 2006.

  • 18April 2006
    The Iraqi quagmire
    By

    Three years after the US-led intervention, Iraq has become neither more secure nor more democratic. Formal democratic procedures do not necessarily amount to democracy. National sovereignty, a non-negotiable prerequisite for democracy, exists on paper only and the country's nascent democracy needs a secure environment in order to be able to take root.

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