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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 03/03
EU's Emerging Military Policy and the Mena Areas
November 2000
Abstract
The American component in the EU Middle East Policy cannot be considered in isolation.
The transatlantic relationship has a complex character and, for this reason, there are linkages between different issues. The influence of transatlantic relations and the U.S. on what the EU does or does not do in the Middle East is not necessarily tied to the Middle East itself and to specific Middle Eastern issues debated in transatlantic relations. It may stem from other issues.
One such broader issue is the role of NATO and the Western world with respect to international order. This issue does not necessarily concern the Middle East or the Middle East only, still it is bound to have an impact on EU relations with the Middle East.
In the last years, while issues relating to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)- the Peace Process, Iran, Iraq, Libya - brought out transatlantic differences, strong agreement emerged on co-operation to manage crises internationally.
This trend is not related to the Middle East and the Mediterranean. It has been stirred by the successive crises in the Western Balkans. Still, the outcome of this fresh transatlantic understanding, given appropriate political and legal conditions, may concern the MENA areas as well. In sum, while current European attempts to develop a crisis management capability are strongly linked to the Atlantic context, they potentially concern the Middle East and North Africa as well.
In this context, it may be of interest to go into more detail by
- first, illustrating very briefly the main features of what the EU is developing under the name of CESDP (Common European Security and Defence Policy) within the framework of its already established Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP);
- second, explaining in which way the CESDP links up with the Atlantic Alliance and its upcoming enlargements;
- third, drawing some conclusions about how these new, more articulated transatlantic capabilities may affect the Middle East and the Mediterranean: will they bring about a Europe destined to be more subservient to the United States (to use traditional anti-imperialist jargon), i.e. a more compact, less articulated Atlantic Alliance (to express a more relaxed view), or will they present the MENA regions with opportunities and allow the EU to play a role more in tune with these regions’ expectations?
