• Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Europe logoCarnegie lettermark logo
EUNATO
  • Donate
{
  "authors": [
    "Richard Youngs"
  ],
  "type": "other",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Carnegie Europe",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [
    "Europe’s Southern Neighborhood"
  ],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "ctw",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Carnegie Europe",
  "programAffiliation": "EP",
  "programs": [
    "Europe"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Middle East",
    "Europe",
    "Gulf",
    "Levant",
    "Western Europe",
    "Iran"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Policy",
    "Political Reform"
  ]
}

Source: Getty

Other
Carnegie Europe

The EU’s Geopolitical Crossroads in the Middle East

The EU should tailor its Middle East policies to European strategic interests, while avoiding an excessive focus on stability over reform.

Link Copied
By Richard Youngs
Published on Mar 12, 2015

Source: FRIDE

As violence and instability spreads across the Middle East and North Africa, the European Union recognises its failings in this region. The EU is currently reviewing its strategy towards its neighbours, and there are growing calls for the Union to develop a more geopolitical approach to protecting its strategic interests in the Middle East. A commitment to mould EU policies to the geopolitical complexities of the Middle East would be welcome – and indeed long overdue. But the challenge for European policymakers will be to give EU policies a more strategic edge without excessively focusing on stability over political reform.

Read the full text of this article at FRIDE.

About the Author

Richard Youngs

Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program

Richard Youngs is a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, based at Carnegie Europe. He works on EU foreign policy and on issues of international democracy.

    Recent Work

  • Paper
    Post-U.S. International Democracy Support: Aspiration in Search of Substance

      Richard Youngs, Thomas Carothers

  • Commentary
    The EU Needs a Third Way in Iran

      Richard Youngs

Richard Youngs
Senior Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program
Richard Youngs
Foreign PolicyPolitical ReformMiddle EastEuropeGulfLevantWestern EuropeIran

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Europe

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    European Security Strategy: In Search of a New Ambition

    The EU is putting together a new security strategy to meet today’s myriad challenges. But for any proposal to be effective, the union needs to grapple with its identity and ambitions.

      Pierre Vimont

  • Commentary
    Reviving Kosovo-Serbia Normalization Talks

    Three years after the Ohrid Agreement, Kosovo and Serbia remain far from normalization. To revive implementation, the EU should abandon its ambiguity and act as an even-handed arbitrator.

      • +1

      Miloš Pavković, Fitim Gashi, Iliriana Gjoni, …

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    The Climate Blind Spot in Europe’s New Migration Pact

    The EU’s new migration policy is not suited to today’s realities. With climate change increasingly becoming a driver of displacement, Europe needs to rethink its deterrence-focused approach.

      • Shana Tabak headshot

      Shana Tabak

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    Taking the Pulse: Are Western Democracies Failing Free Speech?

    The battle over free speech has taken center stage since U.S. Vice President JD Vance accused Europe of censorship. From travel bans to social media regulation, especially around the Israel-Palestine conflict, are liberal democratic governments weaponizing free speech?

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz, ed.

  • Commentary
    Strategic Europe
    In the Middle East, Europeans Bow Down to the United States

    Europe seems to have accepted its sidelining in the Middle East. The EU must reassert its support for the international rules-based order and step up engagement.

      • Rym Momtaz

      Rym Momtaz

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
Carnegie Europe logo, white
Rue du Congrès, 151000 Brussels, Belgium
  • Research
  • Strategic Europe
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
  • Gender Equality Plan
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Europe
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.