Situated in the shadow of ‘success story’ Tunisia and next to conflict-ridden Libya, Algeria has often been neglected by analysts. Yet with the recent popular protests that cancelled the presidential elections, Algeria has entered the spotlight, adding fresh relevance to the issue of the EU’s relations with its largest southern neighbour. What happens in Algeria will inevitably impact Europe – either positively, if we see a confident, recovering Algeria, or negatively, if things turn violent.

What can Algeria’s complex history of both civil protest (in the late 80s) and brutal civil war (in the 90s) teach the EU? What lessons have been learned from the broader regional uprisings of 2011? Can and should the EU contribute to addressing Algeria’s political, socio-economic and security challenges? Given that the EU is perceived as Algeria’s top partner (Euromed Survey 2019), this panel looked at the past, present and possible future of EU-Algeria relations at this crucial moment in time.