Opinion by Arezki Daoud – 25 February 2019: Leaders and representatives of some 40 Arab and European countries met in Sharm el-Sheikh this past weekend to discuss ways to secure the Mediterranean region and deal with issues of human migration, development and security. Given the cast of characters involved in the event and the impossible outcomes sought, the conference was more like an opportunity for leaders -many of them dictators- to chit chat than to actually plot effective strategies to stabilize the region. The cast of characters includes the host of the event, Egypt’s President Sissi, who basically pushed his country into the abyss, further destabilizing it, creating a major source of threat to the region with its internal conflicts. One cannot go from destabilizing one country to attempting to fix the whole region!
The rest of the attendees may not be as extreme as Sissi, but they are not doing any better domestically for them to be part of the solution. They are the problem! Even the most developed nations of the region are in a precarious situation. Italy has its disruptive ultra-nationalists. France’s Macron is dealing with aggressive Gillets Jaune (yellow vests). North Africa and the Sahel do not seem able to get out of their own crises…. So how do these leaders, battered in their own countries, can deliver on a Mediterranean-wide peace and development agenda? One man, though, had the courage to say it straight: Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told AFP “If you think that by seeing each other for 24 hours in Sharm el-Sheikh and it’s peace in the world and in the region, then you believe in Father Christmas.” Below is the AFP story:
EU, Arab leaders proclaim ‘new era’ despite human rights split
Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, Feb 25, 2019 (AFP) – European and Arab leaders on Monday ended their first summit pledging to launch a “new era” of cooperation on topics ranging from counter-terrorism to migration despite sharp differences over human rights. Around 40 EU and Arab leaders stressed at their two-day summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh how their challenges were interlinked and required joint efforts to meet them.
In a final statement, the leaders pledged to “embark on a new era of cooperation and coordination” that would boost stability and prosperity in both regions and beyond, all within a rules-based international order. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the summit host, highlighted common interests on counter-terrorism, migration, economic development and efforts for peace in Yemen, Syria, Libya as well as between Israel and the Palestinians. But Sisi shot back at a European journalist who asked him to respond to EU
criticism of human rights in Egypt. “You are not going to teach us about our humanity, our values, and our morality,” Sisi said during the closing news conference. “Respect our humanity and our morality as we respect yours.” The Egyptian leader said “our priorities are different” as people of the region faced hundreds if not thousands of terrorist acts, compared with Europe which had only a few.
Jean-Claude Juncker, head of the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, told the same news conference that differences on “respect for human rights should not prevent us from envisaging the future with optimism.” There were also differences on how to deal with Iran, with the Sunni-led Arab countries taking a harder line toward the government in Shiite-dominated Tehran. A Western diplomat told AFP several Arab countries wanted a firmer position on Iran in the final summit statement, which the Europeans refused to do. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel earlier cautioned against expecting too much from the first EU-Arab League summit.
“If you think that by seeing each other for 24 hours in Sharm el-Sheikh and it’s peace in the world and in the region, then you believe in Father Christmas,” Bettel told reporters. But Bettel said the summit helped lay the ground for future talks and led to important personal contacts.
– ‘Same concerns’ –
Both sides agreed the need to work together to manage migrant and refugee flows as well as fight extremists, though Europe is itself divided on migration. More than one million people, most of them fleeing the war in Syria, entered the bloc in 2015. Eastern EU governments have refused to admit asylum seekers landing in front line states like Italy and Greece. Conflict-wracked Libya meanwhile is used as a staging area by smugglers and traffickers to take economic migrants and asylum seekers to Italian shores.
European leaders have also stressed the need to defuse conflicts in the region because they are linked to extremists implicated in a wave of terrorist attacks in Europe.
Arabs and Europeans have both been battling the Islamic State group, and its followers. The group has territorially been pushed out of its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. The summit in the southern Sinai desert was heavily guarded by Egyptian security forces who are fighting a bloody jihadist insurgency a short distance to the north. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Sunday the two sides “share the same concerns when it comes to fighting terrorism, preventing radicalisation”. Mogherini also said “we largely share the same positions” on Syria, the Arab-Israeli peace process, Yemen and Libya. Most of the leaders of the 22-member Arab League attended, except for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, whose country was suspended from the League over the civil war, and Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, who is grappling with protests at home. Absent on the EU side were the leaders of France, Spain, Latvia and
Lithuania. European Union countries viewed the summit as a way to protect their traditional diplomatic, economic and security interests while China and Russia move to fill a vacuum left by the United States.
Feb 25, 2019 – European and Arab leaders called for joint solutions to Middle East conflicts destabilising both regions while one cautioned Monday against raising utopian expectations from their first-ever summit. Around 40 EU and Arab leaders held the last day of their two-day summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh stressing how their challenges were interlinked, from migration to terrorism. EU sources told AFP that many leaders continued Monday to voice concerns about the wars in Yemen and Syria, the unrest in Libya and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
But one EU source told AFP that a smaller session focused on these problems did not take place to allow more time for all leaders to give their speeches. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the summit was important for acknowledging cultural, religious and other differences while trying to find “joint solutions,” such as in Syria. He cautioned against raising high expectations. “If you think that by seeing each other for 24 hours in Sharm el-Sheikh and it’s peace in the world and in the region, then you believe in Father Christmas,” Bettel told reporters. He said the summit was nonetheless important for laying the groundwork for future talks as well as a way to establish personal contacts. “The fate of the European Union depends to a significant degree on the fate of the countries of the Arab League,” German Chancellor Angel Merkel told journalists.
“We saw this in the context of migration, of refugees, and therefore the task is to nurture multilateral cooperation, even if at times there are very different viewpoints.” Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel earlier echoed an EU admission it should have long ago held a full summits with leaders of a neighbouring region whose fates are linked. “The situations in this (Arab) region cause instability, insecurity, first of all for the region,” Michel told journalists before joining the last day of talks. “There are countries which have numerous refugees following conflicts in the region, in Syria for example, but that also has an impact in Europe,” Michel said.
‘Same concerns’
Like the EU as a whole, Michel’s own coalition government has split over migration, which four years ago became Europe’s worst such crisis since World War II. More than one million people, most of them fleeing the war in Syria, entered the bloc in 2015. Eastern EU governments have refused to admit asylum seekers landing in frontline states like Italy and Greece. Conflict-wracked Libya meanwhile is used as a staging area by smugglers and traffickers to take economic migrants and asylum seekers to Italian shores. European leaders have also stressed the need to defuse conflicts in the region because they are linked to extremists implicated in a wave of terrorist attacks in Europe. Arabs and Europeans have both been battling the Islamic State group, and its followers. The group has territorially been pushed out of its strongholds in Iraq and Syria. The summit in the southern Sinai desert was heavily guarded by Egyptian security forces who are fighting a bloody jihadist insurgency a short distance to the north.
In his opening speech on Sunday, host Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stressed the need to resolve the Middle East wars and conflicts. He also called for Arab and EU economic cooperation and warned of “mounting risks and challenges” including terrorism and migration.” Has not the time come to agree on a comprehensive approach on combatting terrorism?” Sisi asked. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Sunday the two sides “share the same concerns when it comes to fighting terrorism, preventing radicalisation”. She called for “offering opportunities to young people in our region and
dealing with conflict and crisis.” Mogherini also said “we largely share the same positions” on Syria, the Arab-Israeli peace process, Yemen and Libya. Most of the leaders of the 22-member Arab League attended, except for Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, whose country was suspended from the League over the civil war, and Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir, who is grappling with protests at home. Absent on the EU side were the leaders of France, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania.
By AFP
