Briefings
Europe and the Arab spring
Une soif de liberté
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Arab Spring: What the revolutions mean for us
30 May 20111201 Mladá Fronta DNES Prague -
Egypt: The revolution that came from Serbia
2 March 20119081 Svenska Dagbladet Stockholm -
IDEAS: Why Arab revolution isn’t 1989 again
10 February 20112513 Lidové noviny Prague -
EU-Middle East: Time to ditch the Arab stereotype
4 February 20115323 Der Standard Vienna -
Middle East: Hands off Egypt!
2 February 20112406 The Guardian London
A few months into the Arab revolutions, what lessons for Europe? For Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, professor at the London University, it should not succumb to the myth of a conflict between Islam and the West and engage in a more ambitious, independent diplomacy. 
Some of the members of the April 6 Youth Movement, which spearheaded the Egyptian revolution, were trained by members of Otpor!, a Serbian-based group that was responsible for the fall of the Milosevic regime in 2000. 
The parallel between the popular unrest in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, and the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989 is an uneasy one. How can the foundations for democracy in the Arab world be compared with those of Eastern Europe? 
The revolutionary spirit sweeping the Middle East has provoked as much fear as joy in the West. Der Standard questions why is it that we doubt that Arabs have the will or the ability to be the masters of their own destiny. 
The events in Egypt are exhilarating to any lover of civil liberty, concedes Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins. But given its record of bloody and futile interventions around the world, the West should think twice about meddling as Muslim states strive for self-determination. Une diplomatie à repenser
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Diplomacy: Saving Private Ashton
1 April 20111097 El País Madrid -
Diplomacy: Paris and London torpedo EU foreign policy
31 March 2011952 La Stampa Turin -
EU-Libya: European diplomacy disarmed
21 March 20111191 Presseurop -
Europe-Libya: The moral test of fire
18 March 20111152 Presseurop -
Libye: Europe unties Gaddafi’s hands
17 March 20113145 La Repubblica Rome -
Editorial: Coping with Gaddafi’s return
14 March 20111524Presseurop -
Libya: Sarkozy pushes EU onto warpath
11 March 2011341PresseuropPresseurop -
European funds: South and East fight for the money
9 March 201154 De Standaard Brussels -
Arab Revolutions: Zapatero advocates intervention in Libya
7 March 2011422PresseuropEl País -
Arab Revolutions: Do it like Zapatero
4 March 20112202 Le Monde Paris -
North Africa: Europe's new frontier
1 March 20111894 La Stampa Turin -
Diplomacy: Europe's zero doctrine
25 February 20112986 El País Madrid -
Arab revolutions: Sarkozy accused of amateurism
23 February 20111PresseuropLe Monde -
EU-Libya: Gaddafi's last stand, Europe dithers
22 February 2011373 Presseurop -
EU-Libya: High noon with Gaddafi
21 February 201167PresseuropPresseurop -
Arab revolutions: Lady Ashton misses the boat
17 February 201158 Libération Paris -
Arab revolutions: Seven reasons to be hopeful
17 February 20111PresseuropDie Zeit -
Europe - Egypt: Everybody's favourite dictator
4 February 2011PresseuropDie Tageszeitung -
EU-Egypt: An opportunity not to be missed
31 January 20111581 Presseurop -
Diplomacy: Frattini’s Egyptian mission plan
28 January 2011PresseuropThe Independent -
North Africa: After Tunisia, rethinking the Med
20 January 20111603 Le Monde Paris -
France-Tunisia: How Paris missed the Jasmine Revolution
18 January 2011711 Presseurop -
Democracy: Do right by Tunisia this time
17 January 2011111 Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Frankfurt -
EU-North Africa: A tragedy in the making
10 January 2011207 Le Soir Brussels
While the Libyan crisis unfolds before gates of Europe, the High Representative for EU foreign policy is totally absent from the scene. "One wonders if the post still makes sense," writes analyst Jose Ignacio Torreblanca.
The initiative taken by France and the United Kingdom — two countries which occupy key posts in the European External Action Service — has fragmented the emerging structure of European diplomacy to the point where some commentators have remarked that the EU’s foreign policy should be directly entrusted to Paris and London. 
Europeans are leading the way in the fight against the Libyan regime, but without the European Union, which has been sidelined by member states that are determined to safeguard their prerogatives and an incoherent German foreign policy. 
A few hours after the UN approved military operations against Libya, the regime in Tripoli announced a cease-fire. This decision might well simplify a situation the European press deems risky, while supporting an eventual war there. 
Europe’s attitude in response to the vicious repression of the Libyan uprising is reminiscent of its cowardly behaviour during the Bosnian War, writes Italian intellectual Adriano Sofri. While their leaders dither, European governments appear to be washing their hands of a tragedy that is taking place on their doorstep. 
As the EU prepares a programme of economic and political support for a North Africa in the throes of change, some member states are arguing that Europe's Eastern Neighbourhood Policy, particularly with regard to the Caucasus, shouldn't be forgotten. 
The first European leader to travel to Tunis since the advent of the new regime, on 2 March the Spanish Prime Minister offered financial aid of 300 million euros as well as political support to the North African nation. Le Monde argues that his initiative should set an example for Europe’s response to the democratisation of Arab countries. 
Thirty years ago nobody could have foreseen the process that brought the Warsaw Pact countries into the European Union. Now that the same is happening to Arab nations, the EU must offer them the same opportunity to strengthen democracy: the true prospect of membership. 
During major crises, every major power has a clearly defined diplomatic doctrine which it applies according to its interests. As revolution spreads across the Arab world, it’s the EU found its own, argues columnist José Ignacio Torreblanca. 
The bloody repression of the Libyan people by the Gaddafi regime is exacerbating the problem of a Europe faced with revolts in the Arab world, writes the European press, which calls for concrete and coordinated action. 
On 16 February, Catherine Ashton announced an aid package that will deliver a total of €258 million to Tunisia by 2013. Libération points out that the EU only gave its support for the Tunisian revolution when huge numbers of Tunisian boat people arrived on the coast of Lampedusa. 
After the cacophony and the hesitation that followed the “Jasmine Revolution” in Tunisia, the EU once more seems paralysed in the face of an uprising against the Egyptian regime of Hosni Mubarak. All the same, notes the European press, it’s another chance to support democracy in its Mediterranean “backyard”. 
Aid packages will not be enough if Europe really wants to promote democracy in Tunisia, writes a specialist on Arab affairs, who believes that the EU should reconsider its entire neighbourhood strategy for Mediterranean Arab countries. 
Overtaken by events, slow in supporting the forces of democracy, the French government seemed to be backing the regime of Ben Ali to the very end. Today, it’s having a hard time justifying its position. 
Now that Europe's longtime ally Ben Ali has fled abroad, Tunisia's democratic forces must face off the regime's old guard. This time around, will Europe do the right thing?
In turning a blind eye to the corruption, nepotism and human rights violations of North African governments, the EU should share some of the blame for the violence that has recently erupted in Tunisia and Algeria, argues Belgian journalist Baudouin Loos. L'onde de choc en Europe
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Spain-Tunisia: Short lesson on the weaknesses of democracy
6 June 20111913 De Volkskrant Amsterdam -
Libyan crisis: EU in trouble
5 April 20111204 El País Madrid -
Neighbourhood Policy: Dark clouds over Mare Nostrum
22 March 201162 La Repubblica Rome -
Editorial: Time to choose
7 March 201132Presseurop -
Libyan crisis: Malta asks for help
28 February 2011PresseuropThe Times of Malta -
Immigration: Lampedusa, an outpost in the storm
24 February 2011623 La Stampa Turin -
North Africa: Libya's revolution, Europe's shame
23 February 201111822 El País Madrid -
Arab revolutions: What is really awaiting Europe
21 February 20111631 El País Madrid -
Immigration: What to do? Give them a job!
18 February 20111142 La Repubblica Rome -
Meditteranean: A diplomatic challenge
15 February 201185 Der Standard Vienna -
Italy: Arab revolution lands at Lampedusa
14 February 2011104 La Stampa Turin -
Markets: Egyptian crisis strikes Central Europe
1 February 2011PresseuropHospodářské Noviny -
Greece: Athens fears wave of North Africa migrants
1 February 2011PresseuropI Kathimerini -
Editorial: Learning from Tunisia
21 January 20111611Presseurop
In Tunis, a Volkskrant journalist witnessed the extraordinary spectacle of young Spanish indignados demonstrating outside their embassy. Their dialogue with passing Tunisians offers the basis for a reflection on our political system. 
The Libyan crisis has brought to light the contradictions that mark the European Union: in industrial policy, international relations and immigration, national interest and its corollary, lack of solidarity, prevail. 
Initially ignored by Europe, the Mediterranean region was subsequently the focus of several integration projects, all of which failed to produce results. The current crisis, now striking its southern shores, is a testament to the need for a new approach. 
Since the middle of February, the Italian island of Lampedusa has welcomed several thousand migrants who have made the crossing from Tunisia. Battling with bad weather and without political support, local people have made the best of limited resources in their attempt to deal with the situation. La Stampa reports from an island on a war footing. 
Faced with the massacres perpetrated by the Gaddafi regime against its own people, how can the EU content itself with calling for “restraint”, while spending more time worrying about an influx of refugees? Madrid daily El País publishes an indignant editorial. 
Terrorism, immigration, the economy: for Europeans, the wave of revolts that have shaken the Arab world is fraught with dangers that are not altogether clear. El País has tried to unravel truth from falsehood. 
Italy has requested financial assistance from the EU to cope with the wave of migrants from north Africa. Instead of increasing the budget of Frontex, the border security agency, the EU should rather reform its asylum policy to foster economic integration of immigrants. 
The EU is being constantly overtaken by surprises: first by the revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, then by the onslaught of refugees on Lampedusa. To ward off new ones, the 27 should be considering taking onboard the countries of Maghreb. 
With the collapse of the Ben Ali regime, thousands of Tunisians have caught the boat to Europe. Their landing on the nearby Italian island of Lampedusa and the chaos this has caused foreshadows what could happen on the southern shores of the EU if the migration controls worked out with North African countries were to vanish, worries an alarmed La Stampa columnist. Editorial
The Union's diplomacy, epitomised by the High Representative for External Affairs Catherine Ashton, is struggling to be heard and seems to lag behind Washington. Meanwhile the EU27's foreign services veer between puzzled silence and moderate encouragment of uprisings – while not wishing to appear to let go of despots they have hitherto supported.
