European Conflict Management in the Middle East

Over the last few years, the EU and its member states have become ever more active in conflict management in the Middle East. ESDP missions in the Palestinian territories such as EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS, European involvement in the security sector in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, and a strong European participation in the upgraded UNIFIL testify to this change. In addition, the EU and its member states have engaged in attempts at conflict resolution, above all, in the context of the Middle East Quartet.

 

However, Europeans, rather than trying to substantially influence and alter the Bush administration’s approach to the region, have by and large contented themselves with assuming a complementary role to the United States and have toed the U.S. policy line in dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict as well as with major states and other forces in the region.

 

In the months to come, because of the urgency imposed by the breakdown of the Annapolis process, the need to get to a durable cease-fire, and the rapidly diminishing feasibility of a two-state settlement, the peace process should be one of the main priorities on the transatlantic agenda.

 

This implies for Europeans to rethink their policy approaches, refocus their activities, and seek a more effective coordination and division of labor with the new U.S. administration to contribute to lasting peace and stability in the Middle East.

 

This paper seeks to support this endeavor by analyzing current European approaches to conflict management and resolution in the three entities that do not yet have a peace treaty with Israel - Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian territories - and by providing recommendations for more effective policies.