The battle for Tunisia’s democracy
Tunisia’s president seems unwilling to compromise with his political opponents. But the EU can help set limits on his behaviour through a combination of financial assistance and public statements.
North Africa
Endless concessions: Spain’s tilt to Morocco
Spain’s recent move has little to do with peace in Western Sahara and everything to do with its desire to mend ties with Morocco. But, ultimately, Spain has only made itself more vulnerable to Moroccan pressure.
Building security: How Europeans can help reform Libya
Europeans can play a meaningful role in the reform of Libya’s security sector if they adopt a shared strategy and operational principles
The man from Misrata: Why Libya has two prime ministers (again)
If Libya is to avoid the same political dynamics that sparked its long-running civil war, European states that are invested in Libyan diplomacy will need to focus on establishing a new electoral road map
Unsettled: The impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the Middle East and North Africa
Heightened conflict in Ukraine could have serious consequences for European interests in the Middle East and North Africa. It could further disrupt energy supplies, exacerbate food insecurity, and help states in the region gain leverage over the US and Europe.
Turkey’s drone diplomacy: Lessons for Europe
Turkey has shown how drones can be a powerful foreign policy asset. The EU and its member states should work with the country to lead the development and regulation of this technology.
Tunisia’s lengthy road map back to democracy
Tunisia’s international partners have responded too leniently to its president’s announced programme of constitutional reform. They risk allowing him to remain over-powerful for years to come.
13 Dec
Part of the problem? A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
How can Europeans more effectively advance their human rights agenda as part of, and while maintaining, their broader relationships with regional states?
Part of the problem: A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
European states face accusations of neglecting the matter of human rights in their southern neighbourhood, and even of being complicit. Yet they are failing to maximise the influence they could bring to bear.
Burning ambition: Egypt’s return to regional leadership and how Europe should respond
The Egyptian regime has become somewhat more open to discussing matters such as human rights than Western capitals sometimes assume
Publications
Building security: How Europeans can help reform Libya
Europeans can play a meaningful role in the reform of Libya’s security sector if they adopt a shared strategy and operational principles
Burning ambition: Egypt’s return to regional leadership and how Europe should respond
The Egyptian regime has become somewhat more open to discussing matters such as human rights than Western capitals sometimes assume
Back from the brink: A better way for Europe to support Tunisia’s democratic transition
The EU and its member states can assist Tunisian leaders by providing new investment – and thereby reboot the democratic transition
Free to choose: A new plan for peace in Western Sahara
The UN should pursue a “free association” option for Western Sahara – a third way that offers a realistic means of fulfilling Sahrawi self-determination
Power surge: How the European Green Deal can succeed in Morocco and Tunisia
North African countries such as Morocco and Tunisia can help Europe meet its carbon emissions targets and strengthen its position in the face of fierce competition from China
Spoiler alert: How Europe can save diplomacy in Libya
Europeans should provide stabilisation, technical, and diplomatic support to strengthen Libya’s governance and accountability mechanisms to ensure a new government can successfully hold elections in 2021
A return to Africa: Why North African states are looking south
North African countries, each for their own reasons, are increasingly turning their attention towards sub-Saharan Africa
Reform from crisis: How Tunisia can use covid-19 as an opportunity
The government must build on its response to the pandemic to create a compromise that shares the burden of reform between political actors and interest groups
Demonstration effects: How the Hirak protest movement is reshaping Algerian politics
The Hirak protest movement has revealed flaws in Algeria’s ruling system, which lacks the tools to reinvent itself
Libya’s global civil war
Introduction The Libyan National Army’s (LNA) recent advance on Tripoli, under the leadership of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has pushed Libya into what could become…
Articles
The battle for Tunisia’s democracy
Tunisia’s president seems unwilling to compromise with his political opponents. But the EU can help set limits on his behaviour through a combination of financial assistance and public statements.
Endless concessions: Spain’s tilt to Morocco
Spain’s recent move has little to do with peace in Western Sahara and everything to do with its desire to mend ties with Morocco. But, ultimately, Spain has only made itself more vulnerable to Moroccan pressure.
The man from Misrata: Why Libya has two prime ministers (again)
If Libya is to avoid the same political dynamics that sparked its long-running civil war, European states that are invested in Libyan diplomacy will need to focus on establishing a new electoral road map
Unsettled: The impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the Middle East and North Africa
Heightened conflict in Ukraine could have serious consequences for European interests in the Middle East and North Africa. It could further disrupt energy supplies, exacerbate food insecurity, and help states in the region gain leverage over the US and Europe.
Turkey’s drone diplomacy: Lessons for Europe
Turkey has shown how drones can be a powerful foreign policy asset. The EU and its member states should work with the country to lead the development and regulation of this technology.
Tunisia’s lengthy road map back to democracy
Tunisia’s international partners have responded too leniently to its president’s announced programme of constitutional reform. They risk allowing him to remain over-powerful for years to come.
Tunisia coup: What Europeans can do to save North Africa’s only democracy
Europeans cannot stand apart from the chaos in Tunisia – indeed, active European involvement now can help restore stability to the country
After Barkhane: What France’s military drawdown means for the Sahel
Emmanuel Macron took allies by surprise when he announced the end of Operation Barkhane. But his new plans do not appear to offer the change of tack the Sahel needs.
This time is different: Spain, Morocco, and weaponised migration
By weaponising migration in Ceuta to advance its Western Sahara claim, Morocco has made several major mistakes. Spain is part of an EU that is not in a joking mood on irregular migration blackmail.
Caught in transition: Tunisia’s protests and the threat of repression
As economic hardship and political infighting persist in debt-laden Tunisia, the EU should raise its concerns about the escalation of violence in the country and work to prevent it from sliding back into repression
Specials
Part of the problem: A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
European states face accusations of neglecting the matter of human rights in their southern neighbourhood, and even of being complicit. Yet they are failing to maximise the influence they could bring to bear.
Deep sea rivals: Europe, Turkey, and new eastern Mediterranean conflict lines
The eastern Mediterranean is becoming ever more perilous as geopolitical fault lines steadily enmesh the region. These rifts emerge from the Cyprus ‘frozen conflict’, competition for valuable gas fields, and the increasingly entangled wars in Libya and Syria.
Mapping armed groups in Mali and the Sahel
Violence is tearing Mali and the Sahel apart. But who are the armed groups behind the bloodshed? Where are international actors stationed in the region? And what motivates them all?
A quick guide to Libya’s main players
In Libya there are very few truly national actors, the vast majority are local players. This guide explains who the players are and what they control.
Podcasts
The EU and France in the Sahel
What does the end of Operation Barkhane in its current form mean for the Sahel?
Russia’s Syria, Turkey’s Libya?
The attempt of a peace process in Libya is facing several substantial hindrances, where a variety of actors keep on inducing significant upheavals in its…
The Berlin Libya Conference: a moment to shine for European foreign policy?
Anthony Dworkin stands in for our usual host, Mark Leonard, to de-brief the Berlin Conference on Libya. Together with the ECFR’s experts Asli Aydıntaşbaş, Tarek…
Quelle issue pour la situation en Libye ?
Podcast de notre BCM du 5 mai « Quelle issue pour la situation en Libye ? » en présence de Tarek Megerisi, chercheur…
Protests in Algeria: A fifth term for Bouteflika?
Mark Leonard speaks with Andrew Lebovich, Anthony Dworkin and Chloe Teevan, about what the demonstrators want, and EU-Algeria relations. Bookshelf: La Martingale Algérienne, Réflexions…
The Sahel: A transit region for migration
Mark Leonard speaks with Shoshana Fine and Andrew Lebovich about what is Europe trying to so in the Sahel. Bookshelf: The Good Immigrant by Nico…
Les politiques migratoires et de sécurité de l’Union européenne dans le Sahel
Podcast de notre BCM du 9 octobre : « Les politiques migratoires et de sécurité de l’Union européenne dans le Sahel » avec Giovanni Faleg,…
Russia and the Middle East
Podcast de notre conférence du 1 octobre en partenariat avec l’Institut d’études de sécurité de l’Union européenne (EUISS) : « Russia and the Middle East…
Is Libya falling apart again?
Mark Leonard speaks with Julien Barnes-Dacey and Tarek Megerisi about the Libyan conflict, the impact of the Paris summit, and Europe’s fight over migration policies…
The role of France in the Middle East
Is France alone in the desert? ECFR experts Julien Barnes-Dacey and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil discuss how France can lead Europe in the Middle East
Events
13 Dec
Part of the problem? A better European approach to human rights in the Middle East and North Africa
How can Europeans more effectively advance their human rights agenda as part of, and while maintaining, their broader relationships with regional states?
11 Feb
After Berlin: What options for peace in Libya?
A breakfast discussion on the peace options in Libya following the Berlin conference
22 Jan
Après la Conférence de Berlin, des espoirs de paix en Libye ?
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à un Black Coffee Morning en présence de Tarek Megerisi, Mary Fitzgerald, Olivier Vallée et Leela Jacinto
4 Nov
European Foreign Policy In An Era Of Great Powers Competition
How can the EU demonstrate resolve and respond to the interests of Russia, Turkey, Iran and Saudi-Arabia?
8 Oct
Security in the Mediterranean basin
Europe's strategy for a secure Mediterranean
2 Oct
Bridging the Divide: How Germany can help stabilise Libya
Roundtable discussion on Germany's role in the Libyan Civil War and what Germany can do to help stabilize the country
9 May
Tunisia in transition
The role of Italy and Europe in Tunisia democratization process
3 May
Quelle issue pour la situation en Libye ?
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à un Black Coffee Morning, en présence de Tarek Megerisi, Mary Fitzgerald et Virginie Collombier, sur le thème suivant : « Quelle issue pour la situation en Libye ? »
12 Feb
Conferencia: Migraciones en el mundo Árabe
Conferencia, celebrada en colaboración con Casa Árabe, para tratar las cuestiones migratorias que conciernen a Europa y al Norte de África
11 Feb
Migration Cooperation across the Mediterranean
Following the launch of Tasnim Abderrahim's paper on migration in the mediterranean, the ECFR Berlin is hosting a lunch time event to discuss European cooperation with North Africa.
In the media
Draghi’s words to Biden on Libya sound like a pre-emptive call for more political support for Italy in Mediterranean and energy issues
Arturo Varvelli comments on Mario Draghi’s words on Libya emerged during his meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington DC
Prices may go up, but there is every indication that Algeria will honour its commitments — and there is a price review built into the contracts,
Anthony Dworkin says Algeria wants to make the most of opportunities to increase gas shipments to Europe and raise money to invest domestically
By backing Moroccan positions so firmly, Spain has undoubtedly hardened Rabat’s negotiating positions even further
In his latest op-ed, Hugh Lovatt positions himself on the Spanish involvement in Western Sahara
Cette tempête s’est transformée en un tsunami avec l’invasion de l’Ukraine par la Russie, qui a fait grimper les prix du blé de 75 % en seulement deux semaines
Michael Tanchum features in an article dissecting food price increases in Egypt as a result of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine
I don’t think we will see many Syrian or Libyan mercenaries in Donbas. It is also doubtful that they would be useful to the Russians.
Julien Barnes-Dacey comments on the alleged dispatch of Libyan and Syrian mercenaries to support Russian troops in Ukraine