Conference Proceedings, Research Institute for European and American Studies
Date of Publication: August 2015
(Photo from L to R: Ms Aya Burweila and Ms Antonia Dimou)
PREFACE
The East Mediterranean and North Africa are
geopolitically significant regions which are, however, overwhelmed by security
problems considered as vital ranging from interstate conflicts and
transnational threats with most prominent illegal migration, human trafficking
and terrorism. Equal important, the crisis in Syria and the challenges of a
changing Egypt continue to drive regional politics and economics related to
energy.
A major area of concern for the majority of
regional countries involves the establishment of a maritime security regime
that includes peace and security, territorial integrity and security from
crimes at sea. No country can cement partnerships that realize its full
potential while the regional maritime domain, similar to critical
infrastructures, is run the risk of being exploited to cause harm to people and
disrupt economic stability and prosperity.
What some of the challenges to stability
present, the magnitude of their complexities and whether they can be addressed
in the form of coordinated policies, have led to the formation of the agenda of
the 2nd training executive seminar of the Research Institute for European and
American Studies (RIEAS).
A central topic of the seminar was natural gas
cooperation as driver to the securing of energy supply not only for the
countries of the East Mediterranean but also for Europe. It is broadly
acknowledged that the East Mediterranean is a complicated piece of real estate,
thus infrastructure partnerships between countries, that have long-defined
themselves in opposition to each other, can provide real incentives to develop
a new psychology of normalization.
The development and exploitation of gas
resources in Israel and Cyprus, and downstream export economic options have
been explicitly addressed in the seminar’s context with special focus on
maritime and pipeline security. Equally primary theme has been the presentation
of Libya and the likelihood to turn itself into a united state, a failed state,
a partitioned state, or non-state. The factionalization that continues to dominate
Libyan politics has fueled domestic instability, while the country’s security
forces have been easily routed by ISIS which has acquired advanced equipment,
financial resources and training camps inside the territory of Libya. The use
of Libya by Jihadists, as gateway to the Mediterranean Sea and as a key
operating hub for illegal trafficking to Europe, has also been analyzed.
An additional core issue of the seminar was the
presentation of policy responses to people trafficking with Greece serving as a
case study. Migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless persons and, under
specific circumstances, internally displaced persons are usually victims of
people trafficking. Thus, the combat of this crime entails on the part of
Greece the enforcement of national and European policies alike. In articulating
their presentations, instructors provided concrete answers to complicated
matters.
As the chairman of the executive seminar noted
in his concluding remarks, “instructors successfully managed to enhance our
understanding of complex issues”. This precisely has been the goal of RIEAS. In
the context of its training activities, RIEAS sustains keen interest in the
affairs of the East Mediterranean and North African regions and supports
dialogue to identify contemporary risks and provide solutions.
Antonia Dimou,
Editor,
Athens, August 2015
