The EU Policy vis-à-vis North Africa and the Middle East

Abstract

The European Union and the Southern Mediterranean countries (SouthMed) have common security interests1. In this article we will analyse how recent events in the Arab Region (“Arab Awakening”, “Arab Spring”), firstly, have affected the security situation in the SouthMed and its possible impact on the EU, and secondly summarize the new policy that the EU proposes as a response to these events. In a final section a first assessment is made of whether this response meets the new challenges.