scholarly journals Conceptualizing Relations Between Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East

2021 ◽  
pp. 10-35
Author(s):  
Raffaella A. Del Sarto
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
The Mediterranean

This chapter presents the conceptual framework of this study. It delves into the meaning and implications of adopting a borderlands approach to the study of the complex relationship between Europe and the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Europe’s ‘southern neighbourhood’. Anchored in the conceptualization of the European Union and its member states as an empire of sorts, this approach highlights the extension of European rules and practices to Europe’s southern periphery and the dislocation of Europe’s borders, showing how interconnected the two regions have become as a result. The usefulness of this conceptual framework is also discussed in the context of various flaws and gaps in the existing literature.

scholarly journals Introduction

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Raffaella A. Del Sarto
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
The European Union ◽  
General Introduction ◽  
Member States ◽  
Trade Relations ◽  
Basic Features ◽  
Border Controls

The chapter provides a general introduction to the topic of the book, namely the examination of the complex relationship between Europe—defined here as the European Union and its member states—and the states of the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa (abbreviated as MENA) during the two decades between 1995 and 2015. It presents the conceptualization of these ties by explaining their basic features and the implications of studying them through a core-borderlands prism. It defines the specific focus of the book, namely trade relations and the cooperation on migration, security, and border controls. A brief description of each chapter within the book is also provided.

scholarly journals Evolution of European Union’s policy towards the Mediterranean region

2012 ◽  
pp. 5-10
Author(s):  
Anna Diawol
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Specific Problem ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Union For The Mediterranean

This paper examines some specific problem in Euro Mediterranean relation. Author decided to concentrate on two main issues: the characteristics of the institutions of the Union for the Mediterranean, indicating similarities and differences in the Euro-Mediterranean programs and the presentation of specific new initiatives. The author will also summarize the main possible positions in the ongoing debates about the need to reform the European Union addressed to the countries of North Africa and the Middle East.

scholarly journals POLITICAL AND SOCIAL VULNERABILITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF THE REFUGEE CRISIS 2011-2016: THE ARAB SPRING AND THE ROLE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Toader FLUTUR
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Migration Route ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Right

The issue of uncontrolled migration has produced an institutional transformation of the European Union, dictated by the need to find solutions to new challenges. The reform of migration and asylum policy had to enter the European public agenda at an accelerated pace and political leaders had to find the common will to create the right legislative framework to respond to the migration crisis. The most important migration route preferred by refugees and economic migrants, is the Mediterranean Sea which in recent years has experienced the most intense human trafficking but also the most deaths in such a short time. As a result of the popular riots in North Africa and the Middle East in 2011, the deteriorating political and social situation in the countries of origin, more and more citizens have left their native places in the hope of ensuring a better life in the European Union. In order to support the structural reforms needed by the two areas and even physical reconstruction if we refer to the Syrian case, the European Union must show active involvement and a coherent plan to curb the fluid sources of migration. Supporting the reconstruction of foundations or strengthening institutions, investment in aid programs to stimulate economies and strong agreements with the governments of the states of the Middle East and North Africa are just some of the measures that the European Union should take swiftly.

scholarly journals The Influence of the Migration Crisis of 2015 on the EU Migration Policy

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 9-23
Author(s):  
Marianna Gladysh ◽  
Viktor Viktor
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Mediterranean Region ◽  
Migration Policy ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
Migration Crisis ◽  
The Eu

Nowadays the European Union migration policy towards is one of the most important aspects in ensuring internal security of the EU. At the end of the XXth – beginning of the XXI century, Europe faced a new phenomenon – the intensifi cation of migration processes, namely the influx of refugees and migrants-asylum seekers from third countries. Therefore, it led to the creation and development of common migration policy of the European Union. In this regard, it was important to create legislation that could regulate such issues as border security and combating illegal migration, as well as to create a common asylum system. The need to study the legal framework on which the EU policy on migrants and refugees is based, and to study the current state and trends in the migration policy of the member-states of the EU has determined the relevance of this study. The importance of this topic is intensified by the European migration crisis of 2015, which is even described as a humanitarian catastrophe caused by a massive influx of refugees from Africa and the Middle East. It showed the main problems in the sphere of migration policy and policy towards refugees: imperfection of the system of delimitation of the EU competencies; a large number of countries with confl icting interests in various spheres; fragmentation of programs in force at the national level. To address the migration crisis, the EU used a multifaceted strategy: improving and creating new migration management institutions, expanding crossregional dialogue with the countries of the Mediterranean region, Africa and the Middle East; continued to reformat the Mediterranean region (region-building). Potential approaches range from an internal search for strategies in which each member state seeks to defend its own interests (sometimes even against European integration processes) to a more farsighted approach in which member states work together to address a wide range of migration issues.

scholarly journals The migrant crisis in the Mediterranean: A multidimensional challenge for the European Union

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-629
Author(s):  
C Anguita Olmedo ◽  
P González Gómez del Miño
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Member States ◽  
Institutional Stability ◽  
Social Agenda ◽  
Illegal Migrants ◽  
The Mediterranean ◽  
The Eu

The European Union (EU) throughout its history has been the destination of diverse migratory flows. Therefore, migration has acquired special relevance by occupying a prominent position on the EU’s political, economic, cultural, and social agenda. The most recent migration crisis of 2015 represents a multidimensional challenge with severe consequences that affect, first, the institutional foundations of the EU (governance, security, solidarity of member states and institutional stability) and, second, the migratory policies of receiving states and the EU itself. This crisis is characterized, first, by the high number of illegal migrants that cross the Mediterranean, and, second, by the humanitarian tragedy and insecurity, which make the sea a grey area and an international reference in the migratory processes. The migration-security equation became a field of applied research and analysis, and at the same time a focus of political debate and public opinion. The article aims at analysing the crisis of 2015 and its consequences, which is done by means of the methodological approach based on the consequences that this phenomenon entails for the EU and for certain member states. The response of the EU is limited primarily to securitization by strengthening the external borders, turning towards internal security rather than respecting international and Community Treaties and promotion of their values, which contradicts the anticipated leadership of this global actor. The authors believe that it is necessary to implement new mechanisms in addition to ensuring greater effectiveness of the existing ones.

scholarly journals European Identity and the Challenges of Turkish Accession to the European Union

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Sara Duodu
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
European Identity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Full Membership ◽  
Member States ◽  
Muslim Majority

In 2005, Turkey entered into negotiations for membership with the European Union. Turkey has been an important strategic ally to the European Union in the Middle East, explaining the mutual desire for closer ties between the two. While these negotiations showed promise early on, it has become increasingly apparent that Turkish accession to the European Union will not come easily, if at all. Officially, the European Union cites Turkey’s shortcomings on issues such as human rights as the reason for the stall in negotiations. However, upon closer inspection, it is evident that there is more at play, particularly as the European Union has been inconsistent in their approach to addressing human rights violations. Member states such as Poland and Hungary, which have recent human rights violations, have not faced the same kind of condemnation that Turkey has from the leaders of the European Union. The reality is that the European Union is largely united by its shared Europeanness and Christianity. As a result, due to questions over Turkey’s Europeanness and its large Muslim majority, the European Union is apprehensive to afford it full membership. It can be said that the European Union has maintained that Turkish accession is still possible in order to continue reaping the strategic benefits from close relations with Turkey.

3. The Transfer of Powers and Union Competences

2021 ◽  
pp. 71-93
Author(s):  
Nigel Foster
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Democratic Legitimacy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Complex Relationship ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Member States ◽  
Union Section ◽  
And Control

This chapter examines the multifaceted and increasingly complex relationship between the European Union and its member states. The chapter begins with the transfer of sovereign powers and the democratic legitimacy of the Union and the establishment of constitutionalism within the Union. Section 3.4 considers the transfer of powers from the member states and the division and control of competences between the Union and the member states. In this context, the principles of subsidiarity and of proportionality are discussed, which are the political solutions to the very emotive questions about how power is shared between the Union and the member states.

Bat Ye’or and Eurabia

2019 ◽  
pp. 170-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sindre Bangstad
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Middle East ◽  
North Africa ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Far Right ◽  
The Us ◽  
Muslim Majority

This chapter discusses the life and work of Bat Ye’or (Gisèle Littman), who is widely seen as the doyenne of “Eurabia”-literature. This comes in different varieties and formulations, but in Bat Ye’or’s rendering refers to an ongoing secretive conspiracy which involves both the European Union and Muslim-majority countries in North Africa and the Middle East, aimed at establishing Muslim control over a future Europe or “Eurabia.” Though Bat Ye’or did not coin the term “Eurabia,” she can be credited with having popularized the concept through quasi-academic titles such as Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis and Europe, Globalization and the Coming Universal Caliphate. Through its dissemination on various “counter-jihadist” websites and in the work of the Norwegian counter-jihadist blogger Fjordman, her work inspired the Norwegian terrorist Anders Behring Breivik. She also has long-standing relations with Serbian ultranationalists, the Israeli Far Right, and various radical Right activists in Western Europe and the US.

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