European Union and the Middle East: Between the Soft and Hard Power

A study of EU foreign policy in the Middle East indicates that this institution used its soft power during the Cold War and entrusted the protection of the Union’s security to the United States. EU policies in the post-Cold War era have been characterized with the difficulty in foreign policy decision-making particularly due to the entry of new member states, increased efforts at coordination of foreign policies of member states and divisions in the Union’s opinions notably among the Great Britain, Germany and France towards the Middle East crises. The EU tried to make use of hard power especially with respect to Libya and to take advantage of soft power and hard power at the same time, that is called smart power. Making efforts at consolidating the Middle East peace process, Barcelona process, partnership in the quartet and financial aids are among the Union’s policies aimed at its soft power. Foreign policies of the powerful states of the EU towards the Middle East were intended to attain the following goals: acquiring new markets in the region, securing reliable energy resources, establishing peace and stability in the region in order to increase commercial exchanges, preventing the overflow of refugees and immigrants, and struggle against terrorist and extremist movements.