MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th February, 2019) The Egyptian resort city of Sharm El-Sheikh is set to host the first-ever summit of the European Union and the League of Arab States (LAS) for the next two days, during which the sides will discuss migration, investment, counterterrorism and regional crises.
The summit will be attended by nearly 50 countries, with almost all of them represented at the highest level. The agenda of the meeting, which has already been described as historic, includes multilateralism, trade and investment, migration, security and the situation in the region. The preparatory ministerial meeting in Brussels on February 4, however, failed to produce a common declaration, reportedly due to the lack of consensus on certain issues and the ongoing middle Eastern conflicts.
NO FINAL DECLARATION WOULD BE 'POOR OUTCOME'
According to James Moran, a former principal adviser on the Middle East and North Africa at the EU's External Action Service, both the EU and the Arab League countries are interested in this summit to bear fruits, since the absence of a common declaration might mean that the first EU-LAS summit will also be the last.
"I would be surprised if we don't get a declaration at the end of the meeting. The Egyptians are organizing, providing the driving force - and this meeting means a lot to President [Abdel Fattah] Sisi. I think they have every interest to make sure that they get some sort of outcome," Moran told Sputnik.
The risks that there would be no final declaration and common position, however, remain, the expert said, adding that the lack of such would be a "very poor outcome" as both sides are equally interested in cooperation.
Jaber Habib Jaber, the LAS ambassador to Russia, similarly agreed that the European Union and the Arab League were facing a lot of common challenges, including migration and terrorism, which would make the first encounter of such kind "helpful."
"Now there is some division between Americans and Europeans and we believe because we are close to each other, because we are neighbors, we are suffering and facing the same problems, so we believe there is a lot of shared things we could discuss and come to common answer between Arab and European countries ... We are both facing terrorism, fanatical groups, problems with Syria and Libya. This is affecting Arabic and European countries. I think to start together, to have one approach will be helpful," the ambassador told Sputnik.
Meanwhile, migration is likely to be a top priority for the European Union in cooperation with LAS as Brussels seeks closer coordination in dealing with migrants who embark on a perilous journey through the Mediterranean Sea to cross into Europe.
Most recently on Thursday, media reported that Madrid and Rabat struck a deal allowing the Spanish rescue services to take some migrants saved at sea back to Moroccan ports if the rescue took place in an area overseen by the Moroccan coast guard.
However, the absence of an EU-wide approach to tackling migration � which also manifested itself in several EU nations refusing to join the UN Global Compact for Migration in Marrakesh last December � might create difficulties in reaching a common deal.
"Deeper cooperation on migration is obviously being looked for too by the Europeans, already there are things underway, there is quite of it going on with Egypt. There is close cooperation with Morocco, to lesser extent with Tunisia. I think the European side will be looking for further enhancement of this cooperation, whether it be through policing of the Mediterranean or indeed through support for refugee population in these countries," Moran said.
Moran, however, similarly suggested that the internal discord in Europe over "the language on migration" might create certain obstacles to moving forward on the issue.
"So this is a tough one, migration of course being number one issue for Europe," he added.
NEW BID FOR ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN SETTLEMENT?
The regional crises will be also high on agenda. According to Moran, the European Union may try to use the summit to seize the initiative of coming up with a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict given Palestine's strong rejection of the US-promoted "deal of the century" on the regional settlement.
"I think it's very important given the timing, because the American-Israeli peace plan is going to come in the next couple of months, this has been promised for quite some time. And when it does I'm sure the Palestinians will refuse it ... So it's very important to show some solidarity with the Palestinians here at a time like this. I'm not saying it will change American or Israeli position but I think it's important to push back on this and to recall what the international community signed up to for years, even if it's very difficult to achieve, which is a two-state solution on a proper, just, fair outcome eventually for the Palestinians," the diplomat said.
Of course, one can hardly expect that the two-day summit would manage to come up with solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or the crises in Syria and Yemen overnight in the absence of such major players as Iran, Russia and Turkey.
"I think there are some Arab countries that could represent this [alternative] view because they have good relationship with these sides - Russia, Iran and others. But we believe in a collective approach to all of those problems, we shouldn't ignore anyone," Jaber said.
Moran, in turn, expressed belief that, even though no breakthroughs were expected, the summit in Sharm El-Sheikh could still produce a push forward on some of the ongoing peace processes.
"In terms of resolutions no, because to have a resolution for example on Syria you need Russia, you need Iran, you need Turkey, you need another players around the table, that's for sure. The same applies to the other conflicts as well, including in Yemen where again the Iranians are the big factor supporting the Houthis. But that doesn't mean you can't give a push to some of the ongoing peace processes, particularly those that involve the UN where indeed there is a common ground to be found with the Arabs ... You might have a meeting of minds on the way forward on peace process," he said.
The rebuilding of Syria is also expected to be a part of discussion, especially given the upcoming "Supporting the future of Syria and the region" conference in Brussels in mid-March. In this regard, Moran stressed importance of the relationship with the Gulf states, which he believes, would be important actors, alongside Europe, "in what eventually happens in Syria."
As the Islamic State terror group (IS, outlawed in Russia) has been suffering defeat in Syria, and there is a threat that the militants will resettle and continue attacks in Europe and the Middle East, the EU nations are very much interested in finding new ways of countering terrorism together with its Arab League neighbors.
"We won't be able to effectively counter the fallout from the fight against IS in our own homelands here in Europe if we don't have very good cooperation with the Arab side," Moran argued.
LAS nations, meanwhile, also seek robust EU investments in the region, therefore the issues of improving cooperation of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with different funds in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates will be on the table of the two-day summit as well.
