Bridging The Gulf Eu Gcc Relations At A Crossroads

Relations between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are at a crossroads. After the derailment of the negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2008, the cooperation between the two regional blocs has remained low-key in a number of different areas, while the unprecedented changes that have taken place in North Africa and the Middle East, the common neighbourhood of the EU and the GCC, have not led to a renewed, structured cooperation on foreign and security policy issues. This volume addresses the shortcomings and potential of EU-GCC relations by taking stock of their past evolution and by advancing policy recommendations as to how to revamp this strategic cooperation. In this light, it highlights the areas where greater room for manoeuvre exists in order to enhance EU-GCC relations, discusses the instruments available and sheds light on the features of the regional and international context that are likely to significantly influence the new phase in the mutual relation between the two blocs. The book is the result of the research conducted in the framework of the project ‘Sharaka – Enhancing Understanding and Cooperation in EU-GCC Relations’ co-funded by the European Commission.

This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the various dimensions of the relationship between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, and highlights how relations are yet to reach their full potential. Despite both parties sharing a number of common interests, including trade, energy, climate change, security and cultural cooperation, the multilateral cooperation framework remains limited, with most engagement taking place bilaterally, between individual European and GCC countries. The book reassesses the potential and prospects for the EU’s engagement with GCC countries based on the recalibration and reconciliation of both parties’ national and regional interests. Taking a thematic approach, each of the three sections of the book examines a key dimension of the relationship, its current status and its path forward.

Over the past decade the European Union (EU) has gradually developed the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) with its neighbours. At the same time, the ‘neighbours of the EU’s neighbours’ have presented new challenges. This book addresses the EU’s broader neighbourhood, comprising of the ENP countries and the neighbours of its neighbours. With specific focus on Saharan Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia, it discusses trans-regional policy issues that arise from the EU’s relations with regions beyond the ENP. Based on an interdisciplinary, policy-oriented approach, this volume explores major political, legal, security and socio-economic challenges and identifies opportunities for cooperation across the EU’s broader neighbourhood. This book will be of interest to students, experts and scholars interested in EU affairs and politics, international relations, EU and international law, diplomacy and area studies.

This book discusses how tensions and unknowns may impact future relations between a post-Brexit UK, the EU and the countries of the Gulf, including Iran. The authors of this book consider, in different ways, whether British and EU27 relations with the Gulf States may change or whether the traditions and the weight of their history reinforce the pre-existing patterns of these relationships. Ongoing changes in the Gulf, the present disputes and the trajectories economic reform also influence these discussions. The book analyses the changing positions of the US, China and Russia that are likely to impact Europe’s interests. It explores outcomes of ongoing world challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the crash of oil prices, to further examine Post-Brexit Europe and UK policy challenges towards Iran and the GCC States.

This book seeks to understand the obligation of the international community to implement the principles of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P). With a focus on the humanitarian crisis in Syria, the volume examines what formal responsibility and actual capability international institutions have to protect and prevent civilians from systematic mass atrocities and presents an analysis of several prominent international organizations (IOs). Each chapter focuses on a specific organization and explores their formal responsibilities and how these pertain to the obligations of the R2P. Existing capabilities and actual abilities to address the challenges of R2P are analysed by looking at these issues before, during, and after the occurrence of the humanitarian crisis in Syria. With the UN not fully engaged in the Syrian conflict, the systematic human rights abuses have engendered greater attention on other organizations. This volume argues that if the UN Security Council’s inactions result in an abdication of responsibilities under the UN Charter, there should not only be a discussion of how the UN must alter its approach, but also an examination of whether there are alternative R2P paths for other MNOs to take in the name of international peace and human security. This book will be of much interest to students of R2P, humanitarian intervention, international organisations, Middle Eastern politics and security studies.

This book contains selected papers presented during the World Renewable Energy Network’s 28thanniversary congress at the University of Kingston in London. The forum highlighted the integration of renewables and sustainable buildings as the best means to combat climate change. In-depth chapters written by the world’s leading experts highlight the most current research and technological breakthroughs and discuss policy, renewable energy technologies and applications in all sectors – for heating and cooling, agricultural applications, water, desalination, industrial applications and for the transport sectors. Presents cutting-edge research in green building and renewable energy from all over the world; Covers the most up-to-date research developments, government policies, business models, best practices and innovations; Contains case studies and examples to enhance practical application of the technologies.

The Mediterranean is a highly interconnected geopolitical space in which instability, conflict and insecurity have increased dramatically in the last few years. Today, Mediterranean security is even more central to the national interests of Italy, and therefore requires a continuous, systematic and in-depth reflection by the country’s elites and public opinion. The book aims to contribute to this reflection by addressing the issue with a comprehensive and pragmatic approach. The first chapter analyses the “arc of crisis” in the Arab world, linking current instability and conflicts to the socio-economic, religious, political and geopolitical dynamics. The second chapter focuses on the Mediterranean Sea – from the Italian perspective – in terms of trade between littoral states, maritime traffic, and the “blue economy.” The third chapter focuses on the energy-producing North African countries, the Mediterranean offshore fields and European energy policies in this region (with a view not only to energy security). The fourth chapter analyses the positions of NATO and its major member states with respect to Mediterranean security, with a specific focus on the Alliance’s maritime strategy. The fifth chapter discusses the recent EU Maritime Security Strategy relation with the Mediterranean. Finally, the sixth chapter looks at the “Euro-Mediterranean region” from the Italian perspective, a region that is the priority area for use of the military, including its naval component, as evidenced by the series of naval operations conducted in recent years to respond to the migration crisis.

In view of the Italian Presidency of the Group of Seven (G7) in 2017, the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) conducted a research project on “Major Challenges for Global Macroeconomic Stability and the Role of the G7” together with a major policy think tank in each of the other G7 member countries: Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI, Canada); Centre d’Etudes Prospectives et d’Information Internationales (CEPII, France); Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW, Germany); Japan Institute for International Affairs (JIIA, Japan); Royal Institute for International Affairs (Chatham House, United Kingdom); Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE, United States).The project covered the following three subjects, representing major challenges for G7 policy-makers: macroeconomic policy coordination; international trade relations; global financial stability. Each participating think tank prepared a paper addressing all or some of the issues from the perspective of its own country, outlining areas of possible consensus for joint actions to be achieved within the Group and offering independent policy recommendations for the G7 deliberations. The seven papers have been presented at an international conference held in Rome on 27-28 March 2017 and have been discussed by a broad range of experts from academia and international institutions. The proceedings of the conference are presented in this volume. A broad consensus emerged from the T7 papers and the contributions of the discussants on the need to reduce policy uncertainty, preventing a resurgence of financial tensions in capital and foreign exchange markets. Boosting public investment in infrastructures and new technologies; defining a “better trade agenda” with adequate social protections and completing the financial regulatory reform were also indicated as top priorities for the G7.