Gulf Region and EU’s Maritime Security Strategy: The Expanding ‘Blue Border’?

Abstract

Abstract The European Union (EU) and its core member states are active participants and stakeholders in the security affairs of the Gulf region. European maritime security is not only an important extension of European security in geospatial and functional areas, but also an indispensable part of Europe’s overall security strategy. However, the attention to the EU’s maritime security was distracted before 2010, while the concern for European maritime security and the Gulf region was limited to safe transit routes through the international straits and archipelagic waters of the Gulf region. With the tension in Gulf was increased by oil tanker attacks, the role of EU and its core member states as major stakeholders in Gulf maritime security affairs has been more and more important.