Thursday

28th Sep 2023

EU to spend billions more on Arab revolutions

The European Commission aims to plough an extra €6.2 billion into EU neighbouring countries over the coming years, with the bulk of new resources to go to Arab revolutionaries.

Neighbourhood commissioner Stefan Fuele and development commissioner Andris Pieblags unveiled the numbers at a briefing in the EU capital on Wednesday (7 December).

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

They said Brussels is to spend €61.8 billion in total on foreign policy in the 2014 to 2020 period. The figure includes €23.2 billion on third-world aid, €14.1 billion on helping EU accession candidates such as Turkey and €18.1 billion on promoting reforms in the ring of 16 neighbouring countries stretching from Morocco to Belarus that are not on track to join the bloc.

If agreed by MEPs and member states, the new €18.1 billion budget line represents a big jump from the €12 billion neighbourhood fund covering the past seven years.

Fuele called the shake-up "A direct answer to the revolutionary movements to the south of the European Union ... to ensure the success of the transformation process and to improve social and economic development."

The precise country-by-country split among the 16 remains to be worked out. But a commission official said the "bulk" of new funds will be spent on helping Arab countries such as Egypt, Libya and - potentially - Syria to get back on their feet following unrest.

Arab states will also benefit from three other funds - on worldwide conflict prevention and promotion of human rights - worth €5.5 billion in total.

For his part, Piebalgs noted that development money will in future only go to the "most poor".

The decision means that 19 countries - Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Iran, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Thailand, Venezuela and Uruguay - will no longer qualify for development aid.

Serbia and Ukraine in the cold

Fuele let slip at the press briefing that two of the EU's eastern neighbours, Serbia and Ukraine, are heading for setbacks in EU relations in the coming days.

Asked whether he thinks EU leaders will on Thursday give Serbia EU candidate status, the commissioner answered that Belgrade's recent decision to help end anti-Nato violence in north Kosovo has come too late: "If all these positive developments had come earlier, everybody, including Belgrade, would be feeling more comfortable today."

On the possibility of the EU and Ukraine finalising a new Association Agreement at a summit in Kiev on 19 December, he noted the recent jailing of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko is "not appropriate".

"[EU] member states have made it clear that a conducive climate needs to be created for signing [the agreement]," he said.

'Beginning of the end' for Lukashenko

Amid the focus on the Arab Spring, Fuele at a separate event organised in Brussels on Wednesday by the Carnegie Europe foundation promised to pay special attention to helping NGOs and opposition in Belarus.

He noted that President Aleksander Lukashenko's country is gripped by "fear" and risks becoming "a black hole in Europe."

But he also said Lukashenko's rule is beginning to crumble, referring to "wider frustrations in the country, including amongst the 'nomenklatura'" and "new groups emerging who are becoming increasingly frustrated with the current regime, including a number within the government itself."

"Lukashenko may believe that, by repressing his own people, he is helping to cement his rule ... But I can tell you that when a regime begins to act in such a way, it is truly the beginning of the end," Fuele said.

EU reacts to Arab spring with small-scale funding increase

In a major policy review in the wake of the Arab spring, EU institutions have pledged €250 million a year in new money for the bloc's 16 neighbouring countries, including six post-Soviet states in eastern Europe.

Kosovo violence threatens Serbia's EU bid

A flare up in violence in north Kosovo has alarmed EU officials as Brussels gets set to rule whether or not Serbia is ready for EU candidate status.

Brinksmanship on all sides ahead of EU-Ukraine summit

The EU is continuing to call for legal reform in Ukraine, while Ukraine is still demanding an EU accession promise ahead of a summit that is unlikely to see the initialing of a landmark association treaty.

EU seeks probe into Egypt football tragedy

EU leaders are calling for an independent probe to find out why and how knife-wielding fans overwhelmed stadium security at a football match in Egypt earlier this week.

Opinion

The EU and Algeria: a chance for hope?

As the year of the Arab Spring draws to a close, Algeria could be characterised as North Africa's spark that did not ignite.

EU’s €500m gender violence plan falls short, say auditors

The 'Spotlight Initiative' was launched in 2017 with a budget of €500 million to end all forms of violence or harmful practices against women and girls in partner countries, but so far it has had "little impact", say EU auditors.

Latest News

  1. Poland's culture of fear after three years of abortion 'ban'
  2. Time for a reset: EU regional funding needs overhauling
  3. Germany tightens police checks on Czech and Polish border
  4. EU Ombudsman warns of 'new normal' of crisis decision-making
  5. How do you make embarrassing EU documents 'disappear'?
  6. Resurgent Fico hopes for Slovak comeback at Saturday's election
  7. EU and US urge Azerbijan to allow aid access to Armenians
  8. EU warns of Russian 'mass manipulation' as elections loom

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  2. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  4. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  2. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  3. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics
  6. EFBWWEFBWW calls for the EC to stop exploitation in subcontracting chains

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us