ECFR 12d ago

Europe’s irrelevance in the Middle East in the shifting regional order shaped by the confrontation between Israel and Iran, and the fallout from the Gaza conflict. Amid ongoing escalation, Europe faces a dilemma: should it continue to rely primarily on traditional allies and inherited diplomatic alignments, such as transatlantic ties and historic partnerships with Israel and key Arab states—or does developing European sovereignty require new regional partnerships? Should it develop a more flexible and interest-driven network which includes deeper engagement with Gulf actors, calibrated channels to Iran, and diplomatic formats capable of containing escalation and shaping a post-war regional order? At stake is whether Europe can prevent strategic irrelevance in the Middle East. SPEAKERS: Muath Alwari, director of policy planning department, ministry of Foreign Affairs, UAE Luigi Di Maio, EU special representative for the Gulf region; former minister of foreign affairs in Italy Ellie Geranmayeh, deputy director, Middle East and North Africa programme, European Council on Foreign Relations Moderator: Nathalie Tocci, professor of practice, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies Europe Monitor the latest developments in Iran's Nuclear topic with the data and analysis tool Iran Nuclear Monitor. https://ecfr.eu/special/iran-nuclear-monitor/ 00:00:04 - Europe's Historical and Current Role in the Middle East 00:02:20 - The US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding and Future Prospects 00:09:02 - UAE's Security Reassessment and Partnerships in a Changing Region 00:20:13 - Reimagining Europe's Engagement: Partnership and Regional Integration 00:32:51 - Regional Stability: Intra-Gulf Dynamics and Unresolved Conflicts