Conference

A Transforming Arab World: Between Continuity and Change

3 - 4 October 2013
Paris

The EuroMeSCo Conference, co-organised with the European Union Institute for Security Studies, gathered over 80 participants from 25 Euro-Mediterranean countries, including policy makers and experts. The conference aimed at discussing the factors behind the current state of play in the Arab world and Euro-Mediterranean relations.

The Plenary Sessions explored the elements of continuity and change in the region from an Arab perspective, and the role of the European Union in supporting democratic progress and development in Southern Mediterranean countries.

The parallel working sessions explored three levels affected by the transitional processes: the State, the Region and Civil Society. The first session focused on the democratic and state reforms in the Southern Mediterranean countries. The second working session stressed the regional implications of national transitions and regional conflicts, while the third aimed at discussing the role of civil society and emerging actors in political transitions, such as parties, think tanks and NGOs.

Agenda


day one

Opening session

Hughes Mingarelli Managing Director for North Africa, Middle East, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran and Iraq, European External Action Service
Jean Pierre Filiu Professor of Middle East Studies Sciences Po Paris

day two

Plenary Session

What has changed and what remained unchanged in the region since 2011? A perspective from the Arab side
chair Claire Spencer Senior Research Fellow for the Middle East and North Africa Programme Chatham House
Lahcen Achy Senior Associate Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Hanaa Ebeid Senior Researcher, Editor-in-Chief of Democracy Review ACPSS – Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies
Shadi Hamid Director of Research Brookings Doha Center

Working Session 1

The State: Absorbing the shocks of change
Ibrahim El Houdaiby
Tarek Kahlaoui
Larbi Sadiki

Working Session 2

The Region: More fragmentation or more cohesion?

Working Session 3

The Society: Between new actors and old demands
Mohammed Elagati
Mohammed El Hachemi

Plenary Session

What implications for Euro-Mediterranean relations?
chair Andreu Bassols Director General, IEMed, Spain
Claudio Cortese Senior Deputy Secretary General Union for the Mediterranean
Michael Koehler Director Neighbourhood South, DG NEAR European Commission
Marc Otte Senior Fellow, Ambassador, Special Envoy for Syria, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belgium EGMONT – The Royal Institute for International Relations
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