Perspectives for a Renewed Partnership Between Europe and the Middle East and North Africa

Event Type
Round Table

Location / Date
Berlin, 10.10.2017

German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

Since the 2011 Arab uprisings, the list of political, social, and economic challenges facing the MENA region has continually grown and pressure on Europeans to address these challenges has increased. Several MENA countries have fallen into civil wars, and most suffer from economic recession and high unem-ployment. In addition, political repression can increasingly be observed and thousands of citizens are trying to find refuge in Europe.

Cooperation with the MENA region has never been as pressing – and it has never been so challenging. Europe needs to stay engaged both in its own interest and in the interests of stability and development for the MENA region. What are suitable answers in coping with this complex situation? How should strategies be redefined by European governments and the EU institutions? What are appropriate modes of cooperation?

The German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) is bringing together policy makers and researchers to discuss the following questions:

• Which key interests of a significant group of EU members could help in fostering a strategic vision and common action in the MENA region?
• What can Europe achieve with its conventional modes of development co-operation? How can the coherence of European policies (development, security, trade, investment, agriculture, industry) be improved?
• Should cooperation increasingly focus on countries that are willing to implement far-reaching political and economic reforms, such as Tunisia?
• How can international actors cooperate with countries in a state of war, like Syria, Libya or Yemen?
• In what ways can development cooperation promote values such as democratic governance and human rights in the MENA-region?
• In this context, what is the potential of initiatives such as the Marshall Plan with Africa, as proposed by BMZ, or the EU’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, for addressing the challenges of the MENA re-gion?

Programme

Welcome

• Patrick Lobis, Representative of the European Commission in Berlin

Moderator

• Markus Loewe, Senior Researcher, German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE), Bonn

Panellists

• Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies, SOAS, London
• Christiane Bögemann-Hagedorn, Deputy Director General for North Africa and the Middle East, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe and Latin America, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Bonn / Berlin
• Michael Köhler, Director for EU-Neighbourhood Policy, DG NEAR, European Commission, Brussels
• Intissar Kherigi, co-founder of the Jasmin Foundation, Tunisia and Researcher, Science-Po, Paris

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

Hinweis

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