On 16 December, Gulf Times reported about a session of the Doha Forum held on 15 December during which was debated the role of the European Union in the Middle East and North Africa area. at the Doha Forum. The session entitled « « Polarisation in the Middle East and North Africa: What is the European role? » gathered Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Minister of State for the Middle East at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office & Minister of State at the Department for International Development, H.E. Sigmar Gabriel, Member of the Bundestag (Parliament), Former Vice Chancellor and Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E Dr. Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister of the State of Qatar for Counter terrorism and Mediation of Conflict Resolution, Ibrahim Kalin, Special adviser to President Erdogan and the Presidential Spokesperson and Julien Barnes-Dacey (moderator), Director, Middle East and North Africa Programme, European Council on Foreign Relations . according to the report, the opinion conveyed by panellists was that the European Union was not doing enough in these geographical areas. Most particularly, H.E Dr. Mutlaq Al-Qahtani criticized the volatile position of the European Union in the Middle East and North Africa, which varied from one situation to another according to its interests. He also added that the EU could not evade its responsibilities on the issues of migration, refugees and armed conflicts in the Middle East.Click here to read the report.
The European approach to the MENA