Iran’s Retaliatory Attack on Israel Puts the Middle East on the Brink
A few days after Iran’s attack on Israel, it is too early for an overall assessment of the consequences. It is possible, though, to draw some preliminary reflections. Has Iran gained something, or has the attack rather been a strategic setback? And is there a way out? The attack is the culmination of a months-long […]
Brief/ A Decade of Deadlock. The EU’s Shipwreck on Palestine Embodies the EU’s Blockade Problem by Kristina Kausch
EU decision-making on the Middle East peace process has been paralyzed for a decade, making it the poster child for broader foreign policy pathologies. The weak, erratic European response to Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the latter’s retaliation in Gaza was the natural consequence of a long-standing stalemate. The Israel/Palestine file has […]
Podcast/ The EU and intra-EU contestation: how to navigate and circumvent the negative effect of internal contestation on EUFSP
This new episode of the JOINT podcast explores the the hampering effect of intra-EU contestation on the EU’s ability to respond effectively to international conflicts and crisis. Moderated by Sarah van Bentum (Research Fellow at Freie Universität Berlin and Scholar-in-Residence at the German Federal Foreign Office), Pol Bargués (Senior Research Fellow at the Barcelona Centre […]
Public Hybrid Event/ The EU Foreign and Security Policy in the Middle East: Constraints and Opportunities
The European Union and Turkey have been attaching utmost importance to the Middle East and since the Arab uprisings, the policies towards the region climbed up on the agenda of both actors. The security concerns emanating from the region have been shaping and will continue to shape the policies in the foreseeable future. The region […]
Paper/ Stalled by Division: EU Internal Contestation over the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict by Sinem Akgül-Açikmeşe, Kristina Kausch, Soli Özel and Eduard Soler I Lecha
The future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains vague, as does the EU Foreign and Security Policy towards the region. In this JOINT Report, Sinem Akgül-Açikmeşe (Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies – EDAM), Kristina Kausch (German Marshall Fund – GMF’s Brussels office), Soli Özel (Kadir Has University) and Eduard Soler I Lecha (Barcelona Centre […]
Stalled by Division: EU Internal Contestation over the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Since 1980, Europe’s policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has served as a major barometer of the Union’s ability to formulate an autonomous and cohesive foreign policy. This paper reflects on the impact of the factors that hamper the effectiveness and coherence of EUFSP towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. While there is broad consensus that the EU […]