Economic and political transition of the Southern Mediterranean countries?

Bruegel organised a workshop on Economic and Political Transition of the Southern Mediterranean Countries. It brought together an audience of senior policy makers, commissioners, private sector and civil society to discuss how the EU could help the Southern Mediterranean Countries (SMCs) succeed in their economic and political transition. This required setting the priorities right on three different levels, which correspond to three different time horizons. In the short term, it would mainly consist in delivering assistance programmes aimed at stabilizing the region. The next step would consist in reviewing the existing EU instruments in order to increase their effectiveness in helping the countries of the region. The final step would be to define the end game for the new relationship between the EU and the SMCs. The goal of the seminar was to flesh out the EU priorities towards the SMCs for each of the three steps, taking into account the EU experience with the transition in the CEECs and the similarities as well as differences between the two regions and the two processes of transition.

Agenda

9.00 Registration

9.30-11.45 - Panel 1: The short and medium term challenges for the SMCs

Short term assistance in the aftermath of the Arab Spring (Magda Kandil, The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies)

Key Political Challenges (Theodor Hanf, University of Freiburg)
The Private Sector View (Ahmed Abdelkelfi, TunInvest-AfricInvest)
Short and medium term economic challenges and opportunities for the region (Geoffrey Frewer, EIB)
Perspectives of SMCs (André Sapir, Georg Zachmann, Bruegel)

12.00-13.30 - Panel 2: Which relationship between the EU and the SMCs?

Central European transition: Lessons forSMCs (Dariusz Rosati, Warsaw School of Economics)

European Support to Transition (Erik Berglöf, EBRD)

The Arab Spring: Challenges and Opportunities for Europe (Michael Leigh, GMF)

The EU Strategy (Hugues Mingarelli, EU External Action Service)

13.30-14.00 Lunch buffet

9.30-11.45 - Panel 1: The short and medium term challenges for the SMCs

• Short term assistance in the aftermath of the Arab Spring (Magda Kandil, The Egyptian Center for Economic Studies)
• Key Political Challenges (Theodor Hanf, University of Freiburg)
• The Private Sector View (Ahmed Abdelkelfi, TunInvest-AfricInvest)
• Short and medium term economic challenges and opportunities for the region (Geoffrey Frewer, European Investment Bank)
• Perspectives of SMCs (André Sapir, Georg Zachmann, Bruegel)

12.00-13.30 - Panel 2: Which relationship between the EU and the SMCs?

• Lessons for the EU from the Transition in the CEECs (Dariusz Rosati, Warsaw School of Economics)
• European Support to Transition (Eric Berglöf, EBRD, tbc)
• The Arab Spring: Challenges and Opportunities for Europe (Michael Leigh, GMF)
• The EU Strategy (Hugues Mingarelli, EU External Action Service)

13.30-14.00 Lunch buffet

Download the summary of the event here

Photos