The EU in the eastern mediterranean: Multilateral and bilateral relations

Abstract

The chapter sheds light on the EU-Eastern Mediterranean complex relations highlighting the challenges and the dilemmas faced by the EU over time. Based on the EU actorness literature, the chapter explores the main ΕU foreign policy outcomes, namely diplomatic, economic, security and military responses developed within multilateral and bilateral arrangements, across policy sectors. Regional dynamics following the Arab uprisings, conflicts and the security and migration crises are also examined as crucial factors shifting EU priorities and policies. In this spectrum, these parameters are also significant changing factors not only for the EU foreign policy agenda but also for the EU's own transformation from a regulatory power to a (geo)political Union, posing EU sovereignty and strategic autonomy at the centre of its agenda.