Future for Advanced Research and Studies (FARAS) hosted Mr. Paolo Magri, the Executive Vice President and Director of the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), on January 13, 2018, in a panel discussion titled “EU-MENA Relations: Current Efforts and Potential Attempts to Revive Cooperation.” 

Throughout the discussion, Mr. Magri presented the challenges and threats facing European Middle Eastern relations including refugee crisis, migration and terrorist threats. He further shed light on the increasing role played either by the EU as whole or separate European countries in the Middle East. He argued that the divergent interests and views of various stakeholders in war-torn countries, such as Libya and Syria, is a key predicament hurdling cooperation and reaching settlements.