the EU would do well to examine the possibility of recommending that the G-20 assume the responsibility for coordinating the international effort on economic-financial assistance
The EU and Recent Events in the Southern Mediterranean
The historic events underway in the Middle East took the European Union, along with many other elements and observers, by surprise. The region’s European neighbors have viewed the area as generally stable. Arab rulers cooperating with EU member states made sure to realize these states' interests, chief among them the regular flow of oil, the containment of radical Islam, and prevention of illegal immigration.
Even if it is too early to assess definitively how this transition period will end, it appears that the era of ostensible stability has come to an end. In this context questions arise about the EU’s contribution to the turmoil and the opportunities it may have missed in preventing it, about pan-systemic conclusions that may be drawn in response to the changes the region now faces, and about the ramifications of possible changes on Israel’s relations with the EU.
