Can Europe Make a Difference in the Middle East?
Europe’s geographic proximity to the Middle East, deep economic and energy interdependence, and significant institutional and financial capacity place it in a position of strategic responsibility. Yet this potential remains under-utilized. Rather than continuing to react to crises or align reflexively with U.S. positioning, the EU must define and pursue a coherent Middle East policy grounded in its own long-term interests and normative commitments.
At a moment when transatlantic priorities are diverging and traditional power structures are shifting, the EU faces a structural choice: remain marginal to regional developments or assert itself as a principled and coherent actor. Doing so requires both strategic autonomy externally and greater political cohesion internally. Without this shift, Europe risks not only irrelevance in the Middle East, but deeper fragmentation within the Union itself.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FOREWORD
Josep Borrell Fontelles
INTRODUCTION
Europe’s structural infighting
The impact of domestic policies and politics
Outpaced by stronger and nimbler players
Europe’s multilateral engagement in the Middle East
Normative power and missed opportunities
CONCLUSIONS
