EU policies, Palestinian reform, and their impact on the Middle East conflict

Abstract

"A lasting peace settlement can only be based on respect for international law, including resolutions 242 and 338 of the Security Council of the United Nations. As the European Council has declared, such a settlement requires full recognition of the right of Israel to live in peace and safely inside internationally recognised borders, as well as the creation of a viable, independent and democratic Palestinian state and the end of the occupation of Palestinian Territories." Political reform and conflict resolution in the Middle East are two items that feature high on the European Union's agenda. Since the early 90s and the end of the Cold War, Europe began to reorient its strategic landscape towards the southern Mediterranean. As a major world actor, the EU is also focused on security, counter terrorism and trade enhancement with neighbouring states. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), also known as the Barcelona Process, is fittingly intended to address these topics with Europe's southern neighbours through agreements that promote political and economic reform. The EMP developed into Europe's Middle East democracy promotion strategy with the introduction of the European Neighbourhood Policy framework programme. The EU has consolidated its efforts through its Common Foreign and Security Policy, providing incentives to local players to implement reform in the region. Europe has time and again asserted that the overriding objective of its relations with the Arab World is promoting political, economic and social reforms. But to be successful, reform efforts must emanate from within the region itself. With the causes of the Middle East conflict embedded in the annals of time, the EU has markedly tied up good defining values such as democracy, human rights and gender equality, social justice, and an inclusive society as the basis for change within these societies. These defining values are intended to provide the necessary impetus to catalyse change from within on the understanding that values of democracy and respect for human rights cannot be imposed but are a sine qua non to progress. Europe promotes a culture change towards the freedom