Pressing the Reset Button in Euro-Mediterranean Security Relations?

Abstract

Almost two decades after the Barcelona Declaration, the European Union (EU) is still struggling to engage positively with its southern neighbours. Security has been the key concern in this relationship, with the EU putting forward a short-term agenda, often inconsistent with the policies, institutions and long-term goals of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. This article argues that the so-called Arab Spring has induced a soul-searching process within the European institutions that has opened the possibility for Brussels to reinvent its relations with the Middle East and North Africa countries, particularly in the field of security.