If Middle Eastern countries do not start making real progress on fundamental political and economic reforms, further regional turmoil is inevitable. With the rentier systems that governments have maintained for decades now at a breaking point, policymakers must begin the difficult, but not impossible, process of establishing new social contracts. That contract in Arab countries […]
The countries of Europe and those to the South surrounding the Mediterranean, as well as those further East in the Levant and stretching to the Arab Gulf, share a long history of commerce, punctuated by alternating periods of crisis and rapid development. Crisis best describes the last decade. In recent years, their economies have shared […]
The existing Mediterranean energy infrastructure was mostly designed and built more than 50 years ago and were based on the national-level energy policies and security of supply priorities of the time. Since then, the energy landscape has changed dramatically. Now, national dynamics must be harmonised with regional and global developments and policies. In particular, climate […]
All Mediterranean countries still have a long way to go to mainstream green and sustainable development principles into their economies. While some countries have well defined Green Economy/Sustainable Development strategies (such as France, Italy, Morocco, Portugal and Tunisia), they still lack concrete implementation mechanisms, stakeholders’ commitment and systematic follow-up and evaluation. Several countries have not […]
The European Union is currently faced with manifold challenges within and beyond its borders. Internally, growing inequality undermines its potential to create prosperity and provide stability. Six million people lost their job during the crisis, more than 120 million people are at risk of poverty and fourteen million youth (15-29 years) are not in education, […]
Decisive measures are needed to raise Europe’s competitiveness in order to support higher levels of productivity, employment and prosperity. The effects of the crisis have exacerbated structural weaknesses and contributed to a legacy of economic and policy challenges that need to be tackled. These challenges have been made more pressing by the unprecedented rise in […]
Enhancing public and private investment, but also ensuring that this translates into higher growth and employment, have long been key policy challenges in Arab countries. Reflecting an improvement in policies and global conditions, investment rates in Arab countries have increased over the past couple of decades. In spite of this—and notwithstanding significant differences across the […]
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, which includes 28 countries and has a population of 357.3 million, is developing very rapidly and acquiring increasing importance in the global economy. Geographically, it is the bridge connecting Europe and Asia, and it is one of the world’s richest regions in terms of resources, since it […]
Threats to energy infrastructure occur at all scales, from individual acts of crime, sabotage, or terrorism, up to major regional wars. The MENA region is particularly crucial to the world economy because of the large volumes of oil and gas that flow from and through it. Though some authors point out that energy attracts only […]
MENA will push through critical energy projects, despite uncertainties that cloud the investment outlook for the region. Fully $289bn has already been committed to projects under execution while an additional $611bn worth of development is planned. Leading the drive will be Saudi Arabia, which along with the UAE and Kuwait will invest across the energy […]
At a time of increased tension and violence in Syria and other countries in the broader Middle East, it may appear unrealistic to propose an initiative designed to promote regional cooperation on energy infrastructure in the Eastern Mediterranean. Energy cooperation requires a modicum of trust and cannot replace political moves to resolve international conflict. Yet […]
There is no doubt over the importance of shipping as the backbone supporting world trade. In Europe, the shipping sector holds 40% of global shipping and European ships trade on all oceans, serving many markets all over the world. In addition, shipping is a central part of the intra-European transport system with ports, ferries, barges […]
The barriers to women’s political participation in the Middle East have long preoccupied scholars and analysts. The Arab uprisings of early 2011 disrupted virtually every dimension of Arab politics and societies, forcing a systematic re-evaluation of many long-held political science theories and assumptions. The place of women in politics and the public sphere were no […]
Women in the MENA region face similar barriers as other women in the world to reach top positions in business and management. One of the key challenges, is that women face the double burden of work and family care responsibilities. A research study in the GCC countries indicated that women considered balancing work and family/life […]
ENP and Southern Mediterranean: Youth as the Key Element for Stability in North Africa Entrepreneurs can play a critical role in creating jobs in MENA. In seeking solutions to this challenge, governments and private sector institutions are pointing to entrepreneurship as a way to create jobs, spur innovation and diversify resource dependency. Recently, the region […]
Young men and women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region face the highest youth unemployment levels in the world and express lower levels of trust in government than their parents. With the share of youth (aged 15-29) exceeding 30% of the working-age population in most countries, MENA countries need to urgently develop […]
Young people’s human and social capital is one of Europe’s greatest assets for the future. The European Union and its Member States need to invest in the potential that 90 million young Europeans represent in terms of skills, creativity and diversity. The economic crisis has hit young people particularly hard. It has widened the gap […]
During the crisis, unemployment reached unbearable levels for both men and women in too many countries. However, across the EU, more and more women are economically active. Women’s employment reached the highest level ever recorded (64 %) in 2014, while men’s employment (75 %) has yet to regain its pre-crisis level. As a result, more […]
