Events

12 July, 2018

09:00 – 09:15

Registration

09:15 – 09:45

Opening Session

- Abdelhak Bassou, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center
- Senén Florensa, Chair of EuroMeSCo General Assembly
- Ricardo Diez-Hochleitner, Ambassador of Spain to Morocco
-Claudia Wiedey, Ambassador, Head of the EU Delegation to Morocco
- Miguel Angel Moratinos, Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain

09:45 – 10:30

Keynote speech by the Designated Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean Nasser Kamel

10:30 – 11:00

Coffee Break

11:00 – 13:00

Session 1: The State of Europe and Its Impact on Euro-Mediterranean Relations

In Euro-Mediterranean fora, the focus is most often on the state of the South and Southeast part of the Mediterranean and the impact of its political, economic and security situation on the European Union. Conversely, a number of recent developments in Europe also affect the situation in the Southern shore, the EU’s capacity of projection in the Mediterranean and ultimately the Euro-Mediterranean relations.

Chair

Mohamed Loulichki, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center

Speakers 

- Katarzyna Pelczyńska-Nałęcz, Director, ideaForum - a think tank of the Stefan Batory Foundation
- Ibrahim ElBadawi, President, FEMISE
- Iliana Olivié, Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute 
- Gilles Bertrand, Policy Adviser, Managing Directorate for Middle East and North Africa, EEAS

Debate with participants

14:00 – 15:30

Presentation of results of the EuroMeSCo research groups 

Working Package:  Minorities in the Middle East and North Africa Region

Chair 
- Salam Kawakibi, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

Main authors 
- Paolo Maggiolini, Associate Research Fellow, ISPI – Italian Institute for International Political Studies
- Saïd Bennis, Professor, CERSS – Centre d'études et de recherches en sciences sociales

Comments by
Lurdes Vidal, Director of the Arab and Mediterranean World Department, IEMed – European Institute of the Mediterranean

Working Package:  The Eastern Mediterranean: New Dynamics and Potential for Cooperation

Chair
Nimrod Goren, Head of Institute, Mitvim 

Main authors
- Panayotis Tsakonas, Professor, ELIAMEP – Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy
- Ehud Eiran, Researcher, Mitvim
- Muriel Asseburg, Senior Fellow, SWP – German Institute for International and Security Affairs 

Comments by

Valeria Talbot, Senior Research Fellow and Co-Head of ISPI's Middle East and North Africa Centre, ISPI – Italian Institute for International Political Studies

Working Package: The Future of the EU-Tunisia Partnership

Chair
Emmanuel Cohen-Hadria, Head of Euro-Mediterranean Policies Department, IEMed – European Institute of the Mediterranean

Main authors
- Tasnim Abderehim, Junior Policy Officer, European Centre for Development Policy Management
- Silvia Colombo, Senior Researcher, IAI – Istituto di Affari Internazionali
- Guillaume Van der Loo, Researcher, CEPS – Centre for European Policy Studies

15:30 – 16:00

Coffee Break

16:00 – 18:00

Plugged-in sessions : Discussing latest developments in the region

Session1: Takeaways from the Turkish Elections
Facilitator: Eduard Soler, Senior Research Fellow, CIDOB-Barcelona Center for International Affairs

Session 2: After the Latest European Council: Assessing the EU Policy Response on Migration
Facilitator: Roderick Parkes, Senior Analyst, EUISS-European Union Institute for Security Studies

Session 3: New Governments in Spain and Italy: What Consequences for the EU and Euro-Mediterranean Relations?
Facilitator: Mohamed Loulichki, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center; Patricia Lisa, Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute 

Session 4: Latest Developments in Syria
Facilitator: Salam Kawakibi, Associate Researcher, ARI- Arab Reform Initiative; Director, Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies in Paris

13 July, 2018

09:00 – 11:00

How Southern Mediterranean Countries Engage with the EU and the Euro-Mediterranean? 
Too often are Euro-Mediterranean policies understood as policies of the European Union or its member states towards the Southern Mediterranean. Euro-Mediterranean analysts tend to focus therefore primarily on European policies, strategies and initiatives. The idea of this session is to look into bilateral and regional policies of Southern Mediterranean countries with the underlying question of whether the European Union and the Euro-Mediterranean cooperation are priorities.

Chair
Anis Nacrour, former Head of EU Delegation to Syria 

A view from
- Ehab Fawzy, Assistant Minister for Multilateral Affairs and International Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Egypt 
- Redouane Adghoughi, Director for European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Morocco
- Nabil Ammar, Director General Europe, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tunisia

Comments by
- Marc Otte, Senior Associate Fellow, EGMONT – Royal Institute for International Relations
- Florence Gaub, Deputy Director, EUISS – European Union Institute for Security Studies

11:00 – 11:30

Coffee break

11:30 – 13:30

Parallel Working Sessions

Working Session 1: Is Europe Exporting Instability to the Southern Mediterranean?
The unstable political and security situation in the Southern Mediterranean is very often said to be triggered or worsened by external factors and actors. The session will explore whether and to what extent the EU and its Member States contribute to aggravate the developments in the region.

Chair

Mohamed Eljarh, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, LORC – Libya Outlook Research & Consultancy

Paper Presenters
- Addressing Violent Extremism in the Euro Mediterranean Region: Towards a Truly Euro Mediterranean Approach? By Moussa Bourekba, Researcher, CIDOB – Barcelona Centre for International Affairs
- The Impact of Externalization, Securitization and Migrant Deals: Can EU Still be Able to Spread Norms and Values? By Cigdem Ustun, Associate Professor, CES - METU - Center for European Studies - Middle East Technical University
- The Impact of External Players on Tunisia’s Security Sector: How German Security Involvement puts Tunisia’s Democratisation at risk. By Jana Treffler, FES – Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

Discussants

- Pascal Odul, Policy Officer, Centre of Thematic Expertise on Crisis Reaction and Security Sector Reform. Unit B.2 Regional Programmes Neighbourhood South. DG NEAR. European Commission
- Roderick Parkes, Senior Analyst, EUISS – European Union Institute for Security Studies

Debate with participants

Working Session 2:  Is Europe a Priority for Southern Mediterranean Partners?
Middle East and North Africa countries are developing and strengthening their partnerships with major international powers. The session will explore where the EU stands in this new correlation and analyse how the regional governments deal with European matters, what are the priorities for cooperation with the EU and its Member States, and whether and to what extent their overlap with societies´ expectations.

Chair
Anis Nacrour, Former Head of EU Delegation to Syria

Paper Presenters
- The Role of Democracy in the Revival of Euro-Mediterranean Relations. By Amr El Shobaki, Senior Researcher, ACPSS – Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies
- The New-Old Elites and Their Responsiveness to EU Policies – The Cases of Egypt and Tunisia. By Cengiz Gunay, Vice Director, OIIP – Austrian Institute for International Affairs & Sherin Gharib, Affiliated Researcher, OIIP – Austrian Institute for International Affairs
- Power Transition, Rational Choice and Role Conflict: Explaining the Trajectories of the Maghreb countries’ EU Policies since 2011. By Irene Fernandez-Molina, Lecturer, University of Exter

Discussants

- Ahmed Driss, Director, CEMI – Centre des études méditerranéennes et internationales
- Rabha Allam, Senior Researcher, ACPSS – Al Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies

Debate with participants

Working Session 3: Revitalizing Euro-Mediterranean Relations
With growing number of common threats and challenges, the importance of strengthening Euro-Mediterranean relations and cooperation is even more critical. The session will take stock of various initiatives and frameworks for Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, with a particular focus on the Union for the Mediterranean, and issue proposals on how to overcome obstacles and spoilers in Euro-Mediterranean relations.

Chair 
Munevver Cebeci, Associate Professor, European Union Institute, Marmara University, Istanbul; Visiting Professor, College of Europe-Natolin

Paper Presenters
- One Size Fits All? Towards Dilution of Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and Neighbourhood Policy into a Wider Europe-Africa Cooperation Framework? By Larabi Jaidi, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center & Ivan Martin, Professor, Universidad Pompeu Fabra
- Readmission and Visa Facilitation in EU-North Africa Cooperation on Migration. By Tasnim Abderrahim, Junior Policy Officer, ECMPD – The European Centre for Development Policy Management
- The Paris Summit, Ten Years On; Towards a Ufemisation of Euro-Mediterranean Relations? By Miguel Medina, Professor, CEI International Affairs

Discussants 

- Nadine Abdalla, Research Associate, AFA- Arab Forum for Alternatives
- Elisabeth Johansson-Nogués, Associate Professor at the Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals; CIS Fellow at the London School of Economics
- Giancarlo Sestini, Diplomatia

Debate with participants

14:30 – 16:30

Kick-off meetings of the new set of EuroMeSCo research groups

Working Package: The Role of Russia in the Middle East and North Africa. Strategy or Opportunism?

Chair
Valeria Talbot, Senior Research Fellow and Co-Head of ISPI's Middle East and North Africa Centre, ISPI – Italian Institute for International Political Studies

Main authors
Youssef Cherif, Affiliated Expert, ITES – Tunisian Institute for Strategic Studies 
Mira Milosevich, Senior Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute
Ziad Akl, Senior Researcher, ACPSS – Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies
Christopher Hartwell, Fellow, CASE – Center for Social and Economic Research

Comments by : Marc Franco, Senior Associate Fellow, EGMONT – Royal Institute for International Relations

Debate with participants

Working Package: Les effets des changements climatiques au Sahel sur la sécurité humaine et globale dans le bassin méditerranéen

Chair
Abdelhak Bassou, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center

Main authors
Bouchra Rahmouni Benhida, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center
Amira Halim, Expert in the African program, ACPSS – Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies
Niklas Bremberg, Research Fellow, UI – Swedish Institute of International Affairs
Patricia Lisa, Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute

Comments by: Xira Ruiz-Campillo, Professor, UNISCI – Research Unit on Security and Cooperation, Complutense University of Madrid

Debate with participants

Working Package: Cooperation with Religious Institutions as a European Policy Tool

Chair
Patrycja Sasnal, Head of the Middle East and North Africa Programme, PISM – The Polish Institute of International Affairs

Main authors

- Yasemine El Menouar, Associate Fellow, DGAP – German Council on Foreign Relations
- Sergio Altuna, Associate Analyst, Elcano Royal Institute

Debate with participants

16:30 – 17:00

Keynote Speech by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco, Nasser Bourita

17:00 – 17:30

Final Remarks
- Fathallah Sijilmassi, Former Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean
- Senén Florensa, Chair of EuroMeSCo General Assembly
- Abdelhak Bassou, Senior Fellow, OCP Policy Center