About: Arab world
As EU-Arab summit approaches, more headaches than planned
When plans for a summit between the European Union and the Arab League were first hatched last year, it was envisioned as the start of a new friendship across the Mediterranean. What a difference a few months makes.
How to get Europe back into the Middle East
The Foreign Affairs Council is right to focus on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process when it meets Arab leaders on Monday, but it’s on Iran that the EU is needed the most, writes Franco Frattini, the former Italian foreign minister. VideoPromoted content
European Commission on the latest developments in Syria
Paris and London are gearing up with the United States for a probable military strike against Syria that could come within days and would be the most aggressive action by Western powers in the Middle Eastern nation's two-and-a-half-year civil war. Western envoys have told the Syrian opposition to expect a military response soon against President Bashar al-Assad's forces as punishment for a chemical weapons attack last week, according to sources who attended a meeting with the rebel Syrian National Coalition in Istanbul.
UK, France join US for probable military strike on Syria
Paris and London are gearing up with the United States for a probable military strike against Syria that could come within days and would be the most aggressive action by Western powers in the Middle Eastern nation's two-and-a-half-year civil war. VideoPromoted content
Ousted Egyptian president Morsi is ‘well’, says EU’s Ashton
EU Foreign Affairs chief Catherine Ashton told reporters on Tuesday in Cairo that deposed Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi is 'well' but she does not know where he is being held. In her second visit to Egypt in 12 days, Ashton flew to an undisclosed location to meet the ousted president, where they had a 2 hour conversation. Ashton, however, refused to give details of the discussions. 'He is well, we had a frank and open discussion for the two hours I saw him. And I saw where he was, I don't know where he is but I saw the facility he has'.
Ashton on mediation mission to Egypt
The European Union's foreign policy chief was scheduled to hold crisis talks in Cairo on Monday (29 July) after the weekend killing of at least 72 supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist president plunged the pivotal Arab country deeper into turmoil.Tunisian civil society groups need help from Europe
The European support to Tunisia should not turn into empowering the very people and groups against whom Tunisians revolted in 2011, writes Mourad Teyeb. VideoPromoted content
European Commission on the situation in Egypt
EU officials on Thursday (4 July) urged Egypt's military-backed government to refrain from bloodshed and to quickly restore democracy, just hours after the army took charge for the second time in less than three years following anti-government revolts.
EU calls for calm as military-backed leader takes charge in Egypt
EU officials on Thursday (4 July) urged Egypt's military-backed government to refrain from bloodshed and to quickly restore democracy, just hours after the army took charge for the second time in less than three years following anti-government revolts.
EU official: The Arab Spring revealed our weaknesses
The Arab Spring has been a wake-up call for the EU as it showed that the Union has not always been coherent and consistent in its foreign relations, Dick Toornstra told EURACTIV in an interview.
Schulz resuscitates Sarkozy’s ‘Union for the Mediterranean’
European Parliament President Martin Schulz announced today (4 April) that he will revive the ‘Union for the Mediterranean’, a now moribund initiative first launched in 2008 by the then French President Nicolas Sarkozy, during a parliamentary summit on 7 April in Marseille.
EU moves closer to full recognition of Syrian opposition
EU foreign ministers, meeting the leader of the Syrian opposition on Monday (10 December), moved towards full recognition of a new coalition ahead of a diplomatic gathering aimed at bolstering aid for rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad.
Experts say EU needs to tread carefully over Arab World
Ahead of today's visit of Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali to Brussels, experts warn that Europe must strike a balance in its efforts to support democratic change in the Middle East and North Africa.
EU pledges up to €700 million in aid to Egypt
The European Union offered Egypt economic aid of up to €700 million today (13 September) showing how European governments are trying to build ties with the Islamist rulers brought to power in Egypt's first free elections.
Council of Europe advisor: Reform in Arab Spring states will take time
The Council of Europe has unveiled a three-year, €4.8-million initiative aimed at strengthening democracy and human rights in the southern Mediterranean. The project by the continent’s oldest political body will attempt to assist Morocco and Tunisia in their post-Arab Spring democratic transition, by offering its experience and expertise, gleaned from over 60 years driving political reform in Europe, Pilar Morales told EURACTIV in an exclusive interview.
Egypt’s Mursi sweeps away the old guard
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi yesterday (12 August) dismissed his two military chiefs and reined in military command over the secular presidency, in an attempted realignment of Egyptian political power.
EU considers Syrian refugee protection
The number of Syrian refugees fleeing fighting in their country has reached 115,000 and aid agencies must develop a plan to deal with the growing humanitarian emergency, EU officials said on Monday (23 July).The Egyptian Election and the Arab Spring
Westerners have underestimated the extent of the support for the military regime in Egypt and the degree to which anti-Mubarak demonstrators were committed to Western-style democracy rather than a democracy that represented Islamic values, writes George Friedman.
UN official calls EU’s asylum system ‘extremely dysfunctional’
António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, told a Brussels audience yesterday (20 April) that the European Union's asylum system was "extremely dysfunctional" and that he didn't believe that reforms could meet a December 2012 target.
EU to consider security training mission to Niger
The European Union is considering sending security experts to Niger to help combat a growing threat from al Qaeda and regional instability after the rebellion that toppled the Libyan government, EU diplomats said yesterday (14 March).Democracy cannot be one-size-fits-all
Democracy will not necessarily deliver successful results when applied in the non-Western sphere. It can set general guidelines, but varieties will persist, writes Roman Rukomeda from Ukrainian Foundation for Democracy - People First.An online voice for the Arab Spring
One year after the Arab Spring, Europe's obligation is to promote dialogue in order to affirm its core values and assist those countries' struggle for democratisation, writes Tomi Huhtanen from the Centre for European Studies.
Germany: EU to strengthen sanctions against Syria
The European Union is likely to adopt fresh sanctions against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the coming week, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said.