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the increasing political, “With security tensions and problems in the Middle East the need of a complete structured EU security and defence architecture is highly necessary.”
The port of Beirut after the explosion of 4th August 2020 photo: © Anna Om, stock.adobe.com
Lebanon – a perfect case for the EU Let us focus on the Lebanese case, aiming to link the ENP and the 2016 EU Global Strategy (EUGS) to show the importance of third states such as Lebanon on the EU security level. The EUGS promotes the idea of protecting the interests of European citizens by applying concepts such as peace and security, prosperity and partnership towards partners where the EU will be a responsible global stakeholder investing in EU partnerships as it laid down in the text of the European External Action Service (EEAS/2016). Working with partners on a regional approach to address common challenges is a key point in the EUGS. The ENP towards Lebanon, which entered into force in April 2006 as the EU-Lebanon Association Agreement,3 promoted Lebanon as a stable, democratic, and politically open country with a strong economy. The revised ENP with the Southern Neighborhood published on 9th February 20214 mentioned that the EU should help and support Lebanon’s efforts to resolve ongoing domestic, economic, political, and social crises and thereby lacking the security approach gaps filled within the EUGS. The EU, through the Strategic Compass, compiled some of the EU capabilities to achieve maybe the most needed objectives today, ensuring the security of EU borders internally and externally as a common nexus. At the due date of 2022, as well as during its process, the Strategic Compass will allow external threats to be neutralised in order to establish internal security. The door to Europe The Strategic Compass is a way of putting together all capabilities in one common EU toolbox, mainly depending on defence, whereas foreign affairs create a pragmatic vision of what Europe is facing today. Lebanon is the door to Europe
and it is in the EU’s interest that terrorists do not infiltrate through it. The preservation of a safe Lebanese border is a critical issue in the fight against terrorist groups, as said James Cleverly, the UK minister of Middle Eastern Affairs.5 Lebanon, close to the EU, can ensure optimum results of such a security focused EUGS. The EU must improve its cooperation mechanism with third states like Lebanon to cover large parts of the security gaps.
The article was written in collaboration with Sylvie Ollitrault, DSP, Political Sciences School, University of Rennes 1, France and Francisco Barroso, Political Sciences Department, School Of Law, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), Lebanon The positions and ideas in this article express the viewpoint and opinion of the author and do not obligate any other party.
1 The ENP includes countries that are subdivided into two partnerships. The Eastern Partnership consists of states that were previously part of the Soviet Union (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia Moldova, and Ukraine), while the Southern Partnership includes countries of the MENA region (Algeria, Morocco, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Syria, Tunisia, and the Palestinian Authority). In this chapter, references to the ENP would apply solely to the MENA countries. 2 Kinga Bruzenska/Lucia Rybnikarva, Reinforcing European defence by deeper and wider partnerships, The European Security and Defence Union, N° 38 page 45 3 European Commission, European Neighborhood Policy And Enlargement Negotiations, https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/neighbourhood/ countries/lebanon_en 4 European Union JOINT COMMUNICATION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS, Brussels 2021 5 Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cleverly-ends-visit-to-lebanon-economic-reforms-a-must
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