Europe urged to strengthen dialogue, cooperation with Arab countries

A seminar organized at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs on the European Neighbourhood Policy saw diplomats urging the European Union to strengthen its cooperation with Arab countries.

Former European Commissioner Tonio Borg argued that Malta’s Presidency of the European Council could be used to help push the European Union to start organising summits with the Arab League states.

A European Commission’s League of Arab States liaison office was inaugurated in Malta in 2009. Borg, a former foreign minister, has long insisted that the office should become the focal point for regional summits.

Foreign Affairs Minister George Vella went on to urge the European Union to rethink its Mediterranean policy.

“We must be careful in not repeating the same mistakes the EU did in the past, when the suppression of human rights was underestimated, leading to the revolutions,” he said.

Vella, who called for closer cooperation with the Gulf countries, said stabilizing the southern region was also about tackling the root causes of its fragilities, whilst harnessing the economic and human potential.

“We need to return to basics: work on dialogue, cooperation, even help bridge south-to-south cooperation and with the EU. The EU must draft tailor-made programmes; dishing out money is not the solution.”

Former European Commissioner Tonio Borg and former ambassador to Libya, Joe Cassar (Photo: Ray Attard)

The European Commissioner, who urged youths to be active participants in democracy and not to limit their voice to social media, described the recent but separate events in Nice and Turkey as a stark reminder of the challenges the EU is facing.

“Despite these challenges, the EU will stick to the commitments made to partner countries and we will keep supporting them,” Hahn said, adding that dialogue in key areas such as economic development and migration must be enhanced.

He warned that the volatile situation in neighbouring countries such as Libya, and the poor economic situation, provided further comfort for radicalization.

Both Borg and former Maltese ambassador to Libya Joe Cassar agreed that the European Union could no longer ignore the situation in Egypt, with Cassar urging the 28-member bloc to be harsher with the Sisi regime.

“The longer we support [President Abdel Fattah] al-Sisi, the bigger the backlash will be,” Cassar said.