Euro-Mediterranean relations and the Arab Spring. EU Centre Background Brief No. 6, October 2011

This background paper begins with a reflection on Euro- Mediterranean relations from the 1970s to the launch of the Union for the Mediterranean initiative in 2008. Many analysts believe that the recent events in the Middle East / North Africa (popularly referred to as the Arab Spring) is a test for the future of Euro- Mediterranean relations. Some scholars have even gone as far as to suggest that the unfolding of these events, in which the EU was caught unprepared, reflect a failure of the EU’s neighbourhood policy in promoting democracy and human rights. As the countries in Middle East and North Africa undergo difficult transitions toward democracy, it is time that the EU reflects on its policy and rethinks its approach in engaging that region. The paper concludes with some reflections on the EU’s longer term concerns and interests in the region, and consequences of the Arab Spring on the EU-Mediterranean partnership