EU's Long-Term Stability Strategy for the Middle East, Summer 2004

Not only Middle Eastern states, but all other states –particularly the states in this strategic environment– are economically dependent on the region’s oil resources. Besides economically guaranteeing the continuous flow of regional oil resources into Europe, the EU’s overall strategic political interest is to provide security for itself in the long-term. This could only be realized by pursuing a strategic stability politics with the U.S.; but the EU is trying to do this with the logic of imposing its own “principles” when necessary. Thus, the EU made it clear that the ambitious U.S. initiative called the Greater Middle East project has to be modified multilaterally. This article aims to analyze EU’s oil and security interests, with an emphasis on its long-term stability strategy, which the EU tries to realize in close cooperation with the U.S. and consultation with the Middle Eastern countries...Please click here to read the text in full.