The European Union’s rapidly changing foreign policy in the wake of the war against Ukraine.
This was the subject of one of the online panels organised by EU Watch as part of the Gulf Futures Forum. Among the questions discussed by a distinguished panel of experts were the following:
- How can the European Union deal with ‘aggressive regimes’ that threaten other countries? Should there be clear “red lines” for EU foreign policy? If so, where should they lie, and how should they be enforced?
- How should the EU deal with dictators?
- Are we going to see a new foreign policy emerging, or will it all be back to “business as usual” in a short while?
- How should Europe deal with Iran? Should it take on a more prominent role?
- And what does it take for the EU to be taken more seriously in international diplomacy? Would a European army make a difference?
- Should the EU seek ‘strategic autonomy’, or should it rather work hand in hand with America?
Jane Kinninmont, Elmar Brok, Alan Mendoza, Helga Trüpel at the EU Watch debate
Speakers were:
Elmar Brok – Member of the European Parliament from 1980 to 2019; long-time chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee – Germany
Jane Kinninmont – Director of Impact, European Leadership Network, and Head of the Middle East and North Africa programme, Chatham House – United Kingdom
Alan Mendoza – Co-Founder and Executive Director, Henry Jackson Society – United Kingdom
Moderator: Helga Trüpel – Board member and co-founder, EU Watch; former member of the European Parliament – Germany
Read a summary of the speakers’ positions here!
Watch the video recording here (registration is free).
Elmar Brok: "We have to bring European armies together in planning and in procurement" – there are too many different weapons systems in Europe
— EU Watch (@EUWatchBrussels) March 9, 2022
In a breakout session entitled “Not business as usual? Europe, Iran and the Gulf”, three Middle East experts talked about the changing environment in the Middle East and the implications of a possible new agreement with Iran on the region.
Raphael Nagel, Majid Golpour, Nathanaël Chouraqui, Michael Thaidigsmann
Dr. Raphael Nagel – International businessman and philanthropist; founder of the Abrahamic Business Circle
Dr. Majid Golpour – Sociologist, international relations expert and EU Watch advisor, France/Belgium
Nathanaël Chouraqui – Journalist and founder of the digital media “That’s Y”, France
Moderator: Michael Thaidigsmann – Executive Director, EU Watch
Read a summary of the speakers’ positions here!
