The European Foreign Policy and the Arab-Israeli Dispute: Much Ado about Nothing?

The Arab-Israeli issue is one of the oldest themes addressed by European political cooperation (EPC) and it has been a prevalent topic for about two decades. But a careful assessment of the European record during the 1990s demonstrates that Europe has been of little influence in the monitoring of the Arab-Israeli peace process and the management of the numerous crises that emerged and currently hinder the whole process. Even when the EC/EU has shown the will to play a role and had ideas of its own, practically it never carried out its policies. This article’s key hypothesis is that the EU is both unable and unwilling to assume the role of a significant world power that is supposed to resort to persuasion as well as coercion to assert itself in such a conflict. The development of the argument will go through three steps. The first one will highlight the key stances adopted by the EC/EU from the early 1970s to the late 1990s and the extent to which these stances have had influence. The second one will attempt to explain and illustrate the on-going ‘Power Deficit’ of Europe through an analysis of its identity and scope as an international actor. Based on a parallel approach, the last step will focus on the most recent period and uncover the main elements that belie positive assessments of European action even as a member of the ‘Quartet’ that gathers together the USA, Russia, the UN and the EU in an effort to revive the peace process