09 Europe and Its Neighbours – EU External Relations at the Crossroads?

This seminar will examine challenges and security risks arising from developments at Europe s Eastern and Southern periphery and analyse the question of whether the EU s strategic approach is still adequate. The seminar will first take stock of the changes which have occurred in the Arab world since uprisings started in early 2011. While some Arab countries find themselves in difficult transitions, Syria is the theatre of a war with a potential spill-over to its neighbours. It has become a battlefield in the  Cold War between Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia. Europe fears spreading political Islam and extremism and a growing refugee and migration problem. Second, we will look at the EU s Neighbourhood Policy in the countries of the so-called Eastern Partnership. After the failed Eastern Partnership Summit of November 2013 in Vilnius, which new strategies does the EU have for cooperating with its Eastern neighbours? Which effects did recent protests in Ukraine have on EU-Ukraine relations?