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301. Report of the Seminar "The Reform of the UN Security Council: What Role for the EU?"

Author:
Jacopo Leone
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
In the framework of the IAI-University of Kiel project on “The European Union and the Reform of the United Nations” (Effective Multilateralism), the present report offers an account of the positions and ideas that emerged during the second meeting of Working Group I on “The Reform of the UN Security Council: What Role for the EU?”, held in Rome on 14 May 2010. With its concise overview of all the papers presented at the conference and the relative debates, this report is meant to provide a basis for fruitful further reflection in view of the project's final conference, to be held in Berlin at the beginning of 2011.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, United Nations, and International Security
Political Geography:
Europe

302. Italian Armed Forces under Pressure

Author:
Valerio Briani
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The Italian defence budget is decreasing again. According to an analysis produced by the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), in 2010 Italy will spend around €17,6 billion, or 1.13 percent of GDP, for defence. More worryingly, the budget is seriously unbalanced; personnel costs still gobbles up over 65% of the funds available for the Defence Function, while lack of resources will prevent troops recruiting (thus deepening the unbalance between troops and officers). Funding for the education and training of personnel, and equipment maintenance and support, is also decreasing. If the political and military leadership will not deal with this situation, the country runs the risk of having a military instrument that is unable to perform its duties fully.
Topic:
Defense Policy and Economics
Political Geography:
Europe and Italy

303. Europe, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Need for Triangulation

Author:
Richard Youngs and Ana Echague
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
European Union policy towards the Middle East and North Africa suffers from geographic fragmentation and an increasing functional imbalance which reflects a growing trend towards securitisation. While policy towards the Mediterranean is highly institutionalised, the Gulf Cooperation Council states receive much less attention and policies towards Iran, Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories exist in isolation. A narrow focus on an exclusionist approach to security has taken over to the detriment of political and economic concerns. The shortcomings in European foreign policy towards the broader Middle East in terms of lack of breadth and coherence need to be addressed in order to forge a more cohesive and effective policy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, Iran, Middle East, and North Africa

304. The Impact of the Economic Crisis on Euro-Mediterranean Relations

Author:
Maria Cristina Paciello
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
The ongoing global financial and economic crisis, which initially emerged in North America and Europe, has increasingly spread to emerging and developing countries, including the Southern Mediterranean. The global economic crisis could pose, and is posing, a number of challenges to Euro-Mediterranean relations. On the political front, it has contributed to further undermining the political reform agenda included in the Barcelona Process and the European Neighbourhood Policy. On the economic front, the crisis is jeopardising trade integration in the Euro-Mediterranean area and could slow down the pace of economic reforms supported by the European Union in Southern Mediterranean countries.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Europe and North America

305. Turkey's New Foreign Policy and the Future of Turkey-EU Relations

Author:
Emiliano Alessandri
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Turkey is not 'drifting' towards the east. It is in search of a new place and a new identity, given the many changes that have taken place in the domestic and international contexts, particularly since the end of the Cold War. This complex process of transformation does not in itself challenge Turkey's Western orientation, but it certainly puts it to the test. It is time for the debate on Turkey's drift to be replaced by a more serious and fruitful one on the reasons why Turkey is still important for the EU and the West and what Europe and the West mean for and can offer contemporary Turkey.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Cold War
Political Geography:
Europe and Turkey

306. From a Europe of Choice to a Europe of Necessity?

Author:
Michele Comelli
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Review of: The European Union in the 21st century : perspectives from the Lisbon Treaty, edited by Stefano Micossi and Gian Luigi Tosato, Centre for European Policy Studies, 2009
Political Geography:
Europe

307. Report of the workshop on "The Mediterranean: opportunities to develop EU-GCC relations?

Author:
Christian Koch
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Within the framework of the al-Jisr Project on EU-GCC Public Diplomacy and Outreach Activities and with the support of the European Commission, the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and the Gulf Research Center organized a two-day workshop focusing on how the Mediterranean region can become a field of cooperation between the EU and GCC countries. The event brought together 30 policy officials and specialists to deliberate on questions such as: should the Mediterranean become a dimension in the EU-GCC political dialogue; where are the potential synergies when it comes to the role of energy; what ways and means of financial and economic cooperation present themselves to promote investment and development; and where do political and strategic interests between the EU and the GCC converge or diverge in the Mediterranean. A final roundtable served as a wrap-up for discussion with a focus on policy recommendations.
Topic:
Energy Policy, International Cooperation, Oil, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Middle East

308. Why the European Union Needs a 'Broader Middle East' Policy

Author:
Edward Burke, Ana Echagüe, and Richard Youngs
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
European foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is a highly fragmented construction. Since the mid-1990s the EU's policies with Maghreb and Mashreq countries have been pursued under the rubric of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) and now the Mediterranean Union. This plethora of highly institutionalised initiatives has been developed with negligible linkage to policy in the rest of the Middle East. Relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council remain low key and strikingly disconnected from the EMP. Contrary to its rhetorical emphasis on supporting regional integration around the world, the EU has failed to build its strategy towards Iran and Iraq into a regional security framework. Even more reproachable, given its credibility and influence in the economic sphere has been the EU's inability to foster regional economic integration between the Mediterranean and the Gulf.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Economics, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa

309. Energy in the Mediterranean and the Gulf. Opportunities for Synergies

Author:
Naji Abi-Aad
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
Mediterranean is expected to play an increasingly important role in global energy flows which might result in a greater European dependence on North African supplies and less on the Gulf. At the same time, potential synergies are said to exist in such fields as the development of renewable energy sources, and investment required to meet domestic electricity demand. As far as oil and refined products are concerned, the volume and direction of oil flows to and through the Mediterranean will be important, especially as an expected rise in transport in the near future contains serious security implications. As a result, an increased focus on the development of a pipeline network between the Mediterranean and Europe might open possibilities for Gulf involvement. The same could apply for the supply of natural gas to Europe. In the field of power generation, the improved ability to transmit electricity over longer distances opens the door for establishing a continuum of interconnection from the Gulf to Europe through the Mediterranean and the ability to serve markets along those connections. Finally, the rapidly rising awareness of the need for renewable energy sources suggests an additional field of cooperation.
Topic:
Energy Policy, Globalization, International Trade and Finance, and Oil
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa

310. EU and GCC Strategic Interests in the Mediterranean: Convergence and Divergence

Author:
Roberto Aliboni
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
While sharing a number of interests in the Mediterranean and Middle East region, the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council have pursued different patterns of strategic concerns and relations. Nevertheless, a potential for developing common EUGCC perspectives exists, as the Mediterranean and Middle East region are both part of the EU and the GCC neighbourhood and are a common location for investment. Diplomatic convergence on a number of issues could contribute to improving security and political cooperation as well, despite the fact that this is stymied by divergent views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, and Politics
Political Geography:
Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arabia