On EU’s Policy in the Middle East and North Africa Area （Zhao Chen）

Abstract: Prior to the “Arab Spring” movement, the EU’s policy in the region of Middle East and North Afirica was mainly to institutionalize its relationship with the local countries. It carried out a sequence of projects such as the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Union for the Mediterranean, however, the results were not up to the expectation, unable to realize the goal of prosperity and stability in the region. After the Arabian countries went through “democracy wave”, the EU and its member states immediately adjusted their policies, in support of the regime change of some countries. They adopted a hardline foreign policy, utilizing various strict sanction tools, and as a result, changed the world’s traditional recognization of EU as a “civil power”. With the situation that the US is shrinking its presence, the EU seeks the “effecacy” of the “effective multilateralism” of the world order, and thus, its international influence has been increased. However, its military and foreign policy is still dependent on the US in the region.

Keywords: European Union, Middle East and North Afirica, Arab Spring, effective

（Contact Zhao Chen：zhaochen@cass.org.cn）