The EU and the Middle East Conflict: Tackling the Main Obstacle to Euro-Mediterranean Partnership

Abstract

The Middle East conflict has proven to be one of the main stumbling blocks for the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, particularly with regard to the political and security basket of the partnership. EU support for the Middle East peace process has not produced the intended results. With the breakdown of the Oslo Process and the eruption of violent conflict, the EU has shifted its priorities from economic development, state- and institution-building and regional stabilization to the alleviation of the humanitarian situation, prevention of the collapse of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the reform of its institutions. The EU has become more active in crisis intervention and it has assumed an ever more active diplomatic role – searching for a way out of the impasse and a political solution to the conflict. However, declaratory and diplomatic achievements have not been translated into progress on the ground before the war on Iraq. This can be traced back to the conduct of the parties in conflict, EU policy-making and US policies.