EU Crisis Management and Stabilization Policies in the Middle East and North Africa

A number of Middle East and North African (MENA) countries have been undergoing rapid transformation, with destabilizing effects for the region. The Syrian war turned into an epic humanitarian catastrophe, with several unknowns as to the intentions behind the involvement of different regional and external actors, such as Iran, Russia or Saudi Arabia. Also, the volatile situation in countries like Iraq, Libya, or Yemen increases the risk and instability in the MENA, representing a series of challenges for the European Union. The foreign policy course of new US administration in the region does not provide a meaningful strategy nor does the unpredictability of President Trump give much rise to hope that this will change any time soon. Another key event in global affairs over the last 50 years has been the Gulf Arab countries’ increased prominence in international and regional politics. This finds expression in the growing significance of their roles as development and security actors, especially in the MENA. Against a background of continuous turbulence in this region, at the EU’s doorstep, this raises questions about the particular intentions, goals, means, and outcomes of aid to the MENA countries, and how these affect European interests. Against this background, the paper provides an update and critical assessment of EU action in the MENA, a region frequently referred as to the European Southern Neighborhood. It examines the different instruments and approaches, which are put at work by a variety of institutional actors, notably the EU Commission, Directorate-Generals (DG) International Cooperation and Development (DEVCO), Neighbourhood and Enlargement (NEAR), and the European Commission Humanitarian Office (ECHO); as well as the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the member states, which in their combination are shaping the EU’s MENA policy. The analytical questions are: What can we reasonably expect from EU external action in Middle-East and North Africa? Does EU foreign policy-making at all affect power and governance structures in the MENA region? To what extent, and under what conditions can EU integrated approaches contribute to promoting democracy and stability? In answering these questions, the particular focus is put on the politico-organizational interplay between the EU’s institutional architecture, and the effects of EU policies on the political order in Middle-East and Arab world. Zooming in on the cases of Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Syria, this paper analyses the design and implementation of EU policies in the areas of security, crisis management, international cooperation and development, and studies the effects thereof in these four key-countries within the region. Based on document review, interviews with policy makers and direct observation, taking into account the local context, as well as the regional and geopolitical dimension, the paper contributes empirical research on EU action in a global hotspot area, undergoing turbulence and violent transformation. Results point to an overstrained Europe, struggling with its own political and economic crisis and faced with a radically transformed socio-political and security context, which calls for integrated approaches and fundamental reform of its military and civilian response capabilities.