Thomas More Institute: EU and the Maghreb.

The Thomas More Institute says that a year after the Arab Spring Libya is far from stable and the situation in the Maghreb is unsttled and fragile. he Institute cautions that the EU needs to tailor its strategy to the local situation in each country."New circumstances require a new response" and it advocates a global approach identifying four main challenges.

The challenge of democratisation; the report says that democracy should be encourgaed and that the EU should avoid demonising the governments in power  and work with them judging them on the merits of their actions.  Under the economic and social challenge , the report lists the priorities as employment and an overhaul of development policies and training systems "as an incentive for continued political openess".It stresses the need to fight against the damaging effects of  corruption and reflects that this is all the more important because the revolutions of the Arab Spring hav weakened the economies of the region and this is likely to have an impact for years to come.

The third challenge is security, and it cites salafists in Tunisia in one instance and Al Qaeda in another as having limited success in the Maghreb. It points to the deteriorating situation in the Sahel and the Sahara as representing a real danger for Maghreb countries with terrorist  groups taking hold and the reprecssions of the the war and its after effects in Libya. This could impair  regional cooperation efforts.

The last challenge is  EU Maghreb cooperation in the light of the looming European financial crisis. The main priority for teh regions governments is economic and social stability. In this respect inter Maghreb cooperation is one of the main priorities which the report notes  is hampared by the  currently closed border between Algeria and Morocco  although the report is optimistic that the impetus of the Arab Spring is bringing with it an increased awareness for the need for regional cooperation. It feels that the failure to settle the Western Sahara conflict will hamper progress
despite the autonomy (the report says independence) proposal put forward by Morocco in 2007 which it sits as the most realistic and credible solution. The EU can gain from supporting initiatives to support synergy.

 The report reaffirms the EU's committment to the Maghreb in the form of the new neighbourhood policy to build a true Euro-Mediterranean  and Euro-Arab geopolitical project with prospects and objectives backed by a clear political will. It also sites the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS) as an encouraging sign but says that this process will take time but that many feel that Maghreb countries do not have a great deal of time to achieve a successful democratic transformation and to tackle their economic and social challenges.  The full report is available online and is 28 pages long.