On April 19, 2011, the Brookings Doha Center welcomed the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy H.E. Baroness Catherine Ashton for a special policy discussion on \u201cEurope’s Role in a Changing Middle East and North Africa.\u201d Joining Baroness Ashton to debate the future of the EU\u2019s role in the region were Tarek Yousef, founding dean of the Dubai School of Government and Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center. The event was moderated by Salman Shaikh, director of the Brookings Doha Center, and attended by members of Qatar\u2019s diplomatic, academic and media communities.<\/p>\n
Baroness Ashton began the discussion by setting out the broader challenges faced by the EU since she came into office, in the establishment of a coherent foreign policy. She described one of the major challenges as being the creation of a foreign policy service that was able to build on the EU\u2019s economic and development programs, and integrate an \u201cequally strong approach on the political issues\u201d of concern to the EU. She pointed out that from the beginning of her tenure, the most important political issue on the agenda was Europe\u2019s relationship with its neighborhood \u2013 for \u201cEurope’s backyard was where it needed to show that it could be effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking about the history of Europe\u2019s neighborhood policy, Ashton said it had been the source of much good work in the past \u2013 particularly in coordination with civil society on issues such as human rights, the rule of law, and democracy. She argued however, that given the new realities of the region, it was \u201cnot enough,\u201d and had to be built on in an approach that successfully combined politics and economics. This approach should based around \u201cthree M\u2019s\u201d \u2013 money, mobility and market access \u2013 that represent the best of what the EU has to offer its neighbors.<\/p>\n
Ashton argued that at a \u00a0the financial assistance offered by the EU to \u201csupport the growth of civil society\u201d was crucial at a time when groups that previously had little opportunity, were beginning to seek more effective role. In this regard, Ashton referred both to Tunisia and Egypt, but also to Libya where she pointed out that the Transnational Council was calling for the establishment of a robust civil society. She said that in all initiatives, the EU should seek to bring together the public and private sectors, as well as other financial institutions, and that all support should be offered in a spirit of \u201cmutual accountability.\u201d Ashton went on to talk about the need for enhancing mobility between the EU and its neighborhood. She argued that for both the youth of the region \u2013 who stand to gain a great deal from the opportunities of education and exchange with Europe \u2013 and its businesspeople, \u201cthe capacity to move across borders\u201d is fundamental to economic development. Finally, she argued that the EU has an important role to play in increasing the ease of access to European markets \u2013 both through opening those markets up and through increasing the ability of small local businesses to access and operate within them.<\/p>\n
Referring to the notion of \u201cdeep democracy\u201d Ashton said that in order to ensure that any transition \u201cwas a process, not just a moment\u201d it is necessary to embrace a long-term vision. She warned of the dangers of \u201cimpatience,\u201d saying that there had to be a balance between \u201cthe need to see change, and the need to see it done properly\u201d \u2013 through solid processes and institution building. She further stressed that it was critical that the EU\u2019s own planning reflect that commitment, with a framework that would cover the next 20 years. Finally she emphasized the importance of this process being indigenously led \u2013 though the EU did have a much to offer, it should be \u201con invitation, not imposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tarek Yousef began his remarks with a critique of the EU\u2019s relations with the Southern Mediterranean over the past few decades. He argued that a proliferation of initiatives and agreements \u2013 mentioning the Luxembourg Agreement, the Barcelona Process, and the Mediterranean Union \u2013 had raised great expectations, but delivered few results. Echoing Ashton\u2019s remarks, however, he argued that their inadequacy stemmed from a \u201cfailure to link the economics and the politics at the heart of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yousef offered two reasons for the importance of this link. He argued firstly that the economic processes and agreements at the heart of these initiatives could not succeed without political processes to \u201csupport, encourage and legitimize them.\u201d Secondly, referring in particular to the \u201cfragile and volatile\u201d situations in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, Yousef maintained that \u201cfailure on the economic side\u2026complicates the transitions politically.\u201d He stated that not enough was currently being done by the West to support the transitions economically, stressing that such support would be critical to reaching a political stability through which the countries of the Southern Mediterranean could \u201cbecome real partners with Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking about the current role of the Gulf states, Abdulaziz Sager argued that the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) was no longer a \u201cconventional, traditional\u201d force, and has demonstrated \u2013 particularly in Libya and Yemen \u2013 that it is capable of playing a proactive part. On the nature of political systems within the GCC itself, Sager claimed that the absolute monarchs of the Gulf were actually in a privileged position, in terms of their capacity to deliver reform. Referring to what he saw as a \u201cgreat partnership between the GCC and the EU,\u201d Sager argued that the two organizations should cooperate in providing financial support to countries in transition, and stressed that in its \u201csoft security approach\u201d the EU was an important partner \u2013 pointing in particular to what he described as the threat of an \u201cinterventionist Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following presentations from all speakers, the floor was opened for questions. Moderator Salman Shaikh asked about the conflict between values and interests, referring to the criticism leveled at the EU and other Western powers of being selective in their support for democratic transition in the region. Baroness Ashton responded by arguing that dealing with different countries requires a recourse to a full spectrum of tactics, but that engagement, over disengagement, is almost always the most effective way to create \u201copportunities to be able to promote, to support, to develop ideas across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the situation in Libya, and whether there was more that the EU could be doing, Yousef argued that the leading coalition powers had not thought through how to address the gap between the political ambitions \u2013 \u2018regime change\u2019 \u2013 and the military objectives \u2013 \u2018protect civilians\u2019 \u2013 of the campaign. He was further critical of a trend he saw taking hold in Washington that views the future of Libya as problem for Europe, to be dealt with (politically and financially) by Europe. Yousef argued that though Europe\u2019s historic and geographic proximity afforded it a crucial role, it cannot act alone given the budgetary and military constraints that it is under.<\/p>\n
Ashton added to this by emphasizing the importance of \u201cpartnership and the collaboration\u201d with other countries and organizations \u2013 the African Union, the Arab League, the GCC \u2013 for which the situation in Libya is of \u201cenormous significance.\u201d In terms of the EU\u2019s own role, she stressed that it was principally a humanitarian one, adding that EU was prepared to support the UN militarily with the establishment of humanitarian corridors, should it be asked to do so.<\/p>\n
On the question of Europe\u2019s role in the Middle East peace process, Ashton sated that beyond the extensive economic support offered to the Palestinian Authority, the EU is currently pushing for a \u201cstrong statement\u201d from the Quartet that would \u201csupport and enable President Abbas to come back into the talks with a clear set of parameters.\u201d She emphasized the importance of acting urgently, saying that the PA had in effect \u201cdrawn a line in the sand\u201d with its plans to go to the UN in September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","class_list":["post-69759","event","type-event","status-publish","hentry","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/69759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/event"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mecouncil-afkar.fuegodigitalmedia.qa\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}