The European Union and the middle east peace process

• Author: Ana Maria Bolborici
• Position: Department of Sociology, <I>Transilvania</I> University of Bra&#x015f;ov.
• Pages: 9-14

Page 9

Regional conflicts recorded since 1990 and the fight against international terrorism have led the European leaders to create tools for implementing both formal diplomatic measures and the intervention mechanism.

Over the last decade, the European Security and Defense Policy, as part of the EU foreign policy and security policy, has acquired more experience and expanded its capacity by over 20 missions carried out as a response to crises in different regions of Europe and the world. [3]

The EU is working to ensure security by "reducing poverty and inequality, promoting good governance and human rights, supporting development and combating the causes of conflict and the insecurity of life". [3]

From the beginning, the European Union asserted itself and still remains the most important donor to countries in need, most security measures are linked to UN goals (currently, all 16 EU support UN peacekeeping missions underway).

The European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) is a relatively recent EU Intergovernmental policy, subsumed to the Foreign and Security Policy, conceptual evolving since 1998 (starting with the Franco-British summit, in Saint Malo) and made operational in 2003, when it was adopted by the European Security Strategy (ESS) and launched the first missions (for achieving the objectives defined by the ESS).

From the perspective of the European Security Strategy (ESS/Solana doctrine), the EU has a priority role in the development of common security and defense policy to enhance a strategic culture that promotes early, rapid and robust intervention (if necessary); these EU policies cover a variety of tools and capabilities, such as EU assistance programs, military and civilian capabilities from Member States and other tools, such as the European Development Fund. The European Union attempts to develop more resources for defense, more capacity toPage 10bring civilian resources into crisis and post-crisis and a stronger diplomatic capability. [2]

Regarding the security policy, the EU created a system of co-management of security and regional security partnership based on multilateral institutions and structures inspired by the concept of cooperative and comprehensive security.

EU has opted for solving the security problems through regional security arrangements, considering that this European security model can also be exported to other regions.

Currently, the Neighborhood Policy represents a priority of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), but the most important EU programs in this regard are: the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EEP/1995)) and the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP/2003).

The Middle East regions, Gulf and North Africa (both are part of the broader Middle East) are important areas in terms of strategy and priority of the EU external relations.

The European Union policy towards the extended neighborhood is governed by the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EEP/ known as the Barcelona Process, the conference held between the 27^th and the 28^th of November 1995), which is a cooperation initiative between Europe, the Mediterranean and Middle East states; the signatory States of this partnership are: Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Turkey, Cyprus and Malta; since 1999, Libya has the observer status.

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership aims to improve security in neighboring EU states, ensuring the Mediterranean area enjoys peace and stability based on the principles of democracy and human rights, creating a zone of prosperity through economic and financial partnerships and the gradual establishment of a free trading area (FTA) and human resources development by the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation on the social and cultural civil society level.

The European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) is a...