Middle East & North Africa

Tunisia enjoys a unique status as the only Arab country with a parliamentary democracy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). While this makes the country a beacon of hope, there are numerous challenges in the transformation process, as the 16 Tunisian and European participants of the workshop highlighted.

Discussions focused on the key challenges facing Morocco as both a country of origin and a recipient country for migration; how the current Moroccan migration system needs to be adjusted to adequately respond to challenges related to migration; to what extend the education system should be decentralized in order to address and reflect regional differences; the mismatch between the labor market and the education system; and the prospects for the impact of EU foreign policy instruments to tackle socio-economic issues in Morocco.

Discussions focused on the key challenges facing Morocco as both a country of origin and a recipient country for migration; how the current Moroccan migration system needs to be adjusted to adequately respond to challenges related to migration; to what extend the education system should be decentralized in order to address and reflect regional differences; the mismatch between the labor market and the education system; and the prospects for the impact of EU foreign policy instruments to tackle socio-economic issues in Morocco.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed travel and trade bans. They accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorist organizations, of keeping close ties with Iran, and of undermining regional stability. Since then, the relations between Qatar and the blockade states have deteriorated and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has increasingly weakened through fragmentation. Oman and Kuwait have failed to mediate the conflict; international actors such as the United States, France or Germany also faced the same fate.

In June 2017, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Egypt cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar and imposed travel and trade bans. They accused Qatar of sponsoring terrorist organizations, of keeping close ties with Iran, and of undermining regional stability. Since then, the relations between Qatar and the blockade states have deteriorated and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has increasingly weakened through fragmentation. Oman and Kuwait have failed to mediate the conflict; international actors such as the United States, France or Germany also faced the same fate.