In the wake of the Arabellion and the ‘Arab winter’, a new, peaceful order in Europe's neighbouring region is not yet apparent. With the exception of Tunisia, the social, economic and political conflicts that erupted in 2011 have either been suppressed or partially addressed through superficial reforms to bring about ‘stability’ and to ‘combat the root causes of migration’.

Authoritarian Arab regimes and Russia have stepped into the power vacuum left behind by the United States’ withdrawal from the region. They both support and undermine local actors, and they have projected their geo-strategic interests into the internal conflict situations of fragile societies, such as Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq.

Within these geopolitical parameters, Europe has acted more in response to the region’s challenges, rather than actively supporting and shaping the peacebuilding and reconstruction processes. Europe has long used conventional forms of cooperation to support political ‘stabilization’ and, to an extent, (re)building infrastructure, as well as providing humanitarian aid.

More, however, is required of Europe. A real paradigm shift and change of perspective is needed, both in terms of addressing challenges beyond destroyed material and social infrastructure, and in terms of possible coordination of roles with global and regional hegemonic powers.

This panel debate highlighted how Germany and the EU institutions are dealing with these potentially conflicting goals, and debates practical approaches to supporting local and regional peacebuilding and reconstruction processes in the MENA.

Programme

Welcome

• Dr Jörg Wojahn, Head, European Commission Representation in Berlin

Panelists:

• Colin Scicluna, Director/Deputy Managing Director MENA, European External Action Service
• Klaus Krämer, Head of Division, Cooperation with MENA, German Federal Ministry for
  Economic Cooperation and Development
• Dania Koleilat Khatib, Affiliated Scholar, Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs at American University of Beirut
• Bernhard Trautner, Senior Researcher, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
• Fleur Just-Auzimour, Executive Director, Peaceful Change Initiative

Moderation:

• Mark Furness, Senior Researcher, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

Participants were invited to continue discussions over light refreshments following the round table debate.