Europe is just ” “a “civil power”

We may – and perhaps we should – complain about the fact that little was heard from the European Union and from its Member States as regards the conflicts and wars that once again are shattering the Middle East. This silence is evidently in sharp contrast with the enthusiastic support displayed for the “Arab spring”, which until recently had fuelled the hope that societies bordering on the southern shores of the Mediterranean would have deliberately ridden themselves of despotic governments along with the supporting political parties, thereby initiating a full democratization process. Moreover, already at the time there had been a certain distancing and a recoil vis a vis a set of pledged or announced commitments, owing to surging disillusions regarding the developments which proved to be ever more distant from the ideals of the promoters of the reforms. Indeed, not all Europeans had shared enthusiasms and support of the rebel factions. The various interpretations of the progress and prospects of the Arab Spring in Syria, that inspired the resistance movement against the dominating rulerships in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt led to an almost complete paralysis of European citizens. Active support to Syrian rebels, which could led to some achievements in the short run, was out of the question. And although Europeans’ support in the Syrian conflict was clearly oriented, their political leaders were unable to act – as a result of negative experiences in Arab countries in the past. Since then the situation in the Middle East has tragically deteriorated. The Syrian conflict – involving a part of civil society and the present regime – rapidly escalated into a civil war. Moreover, the Islamic forces and the opposition forces prevailed. And both sides contributed to the deflagration of a tragic extermination war while exploiting intra-political divisions and conflicts involving Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Thus the advance of an “Islamic State” wormed its way through to Iraq. On top of his, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict caused by new missile attacks by Hamas activists against Israel, flared into a destructive war. There are grounds for doubting whether Europe could actually give a significant contribution in the resolution of complex problems that are conditioned by historical and ethnic questions, ideologically and religiously overburdened, which underlie conflicts, crises and wars in the Middle East. Europe doesn’t have powerful pools. None of the EU member Countries is a great power, although some of these Countries – such as France and the United Kingdom – have preserved the remnants of the reference points of their past as super-powers. But when the British government had decided to give military support to the forces opposing Syria’s dreadful regime, Parliament put a veto, thereby triggering a widespread feeling in Europe that such commitment was not worthwhile, that it wouldn’t have delivered positive effects and that it might have even worsened the situation in the region. There are good reasons for the approach that has led to the development of a “culture of moderation” in Europe. Indeed, the numerous efforts made of the US to act as mediator between conflicting parties or as peace negotiator in the near and Middle East, which have invariably failed, are not encouraging. To assume that Europeans would be more successful than the Americans, if they only wanted to, is a mere illusion. The failure of various US initiatives, many of which enjoyed the support of Europe (Israel, Afghanistan, Iraq), evidently depends on specific elements characterising the conflicts and the involved parties. From many different angles, the European Union, with its 28 medium and small member States, is indeed a superpower. But the European Union is not a super-power in terms of foreign affairs and security. It lacks a solid identity. It started creating its own diplomatic service only after the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty at the end of 2009. The vice-president of the European Commission who serves as High Representative of Foreign Policy and Security in Europe can’t even be called Minister of Foreign Affairs so as not to give the impression that this role corresponds to that of member States’ Foreign Ministers. EU decisions and initiatives in the areas of foreign policy and security are a responsibility of member States, tasked with reaching an agreement on every issue. In these circumstances we shouldn’t pretend too much from the EU by ascribing it a role that it cannot sustain. The European Union is aware that it is a “civil power” whose international bearing largely depends on the fact that it renounces the use of super-powers’ traditional tools and means. But as soon as the guns fall silent it can – as was the case in the past – be a useful civil power in crisis areas and in the Middle East, in terms of reconstruction, development and education projects… Finally, but not less important, the role of the European Union is to stand as an example that a deadly armed conflict can be transformed into peaceful and fruitful coexistence.