In the spotlight!

El-Hiwar Summer School 2024: Call for participants is now open – register here!

The Project

This project is designed to reinforce the dialogue and cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the League of Arab States (LAS) as well strengthen Euro-Arab relations in general.

The first phase of the project "Training and Information Course on Euro-Arab Relations” (El-Hiwar I) started in 2013 and was completed in June 2017. The overall objective of El-Hiwar I was to "improve the flow of information and to promote dialogue among officials working in the EU institutions and in the Arab League Secretariat".

The second phase of the project “Training and Information Course on Euro-Arab Relations” (El-Hiwar II) started in June 2018 and came to an end on May 19th, 2022 after 47 months of successful implementation. El-Hiwar II aimed at strengthening dialogue, cooperation and collaboration with key regional actors in Euro-Arab relations.

The third phase of the project “Training and Information Course on Euro-Arab Relations” (El-Hiwar III) started on October 27th, 2022 and will run for 36 months until September 2025. It will design, organise and facilitate a series of activities with the aim of further strengthening Euro-Arab relations, building capacity, contributing to information exchange and interactions between the EU and the LAS. These activities take various formats, such as policy dialogues, summer schools, training programmes, policy briefs, etc.

El-Hiwar Project is funded by the EU and implemented by the College of Europe (Bruges, Belgium). Click here to download the El-Hiwar Project Fiche.

Euro-Arab Relations

Euro-Arab relations date back to 1973 when the first bi-regional dialogue was launched. Despite some ups and downs, since 2008, there is a shared willingness to revitalize those relations, especially by:

• understanding each other's priorities;
• exploring synergies with other regional frameworks, and;
• anticipating and mitigating the effects of regional crises.

Following the first Ministerial meeting between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the European Union (EU) and of the League of Arab States (LAS) held in Malta in 2008, the EU and the LAS made efforts in strengthening and structuring their relations by establishing a framework of regular High Level and Senior Official Meetings, with the purpose of contributing to regional security, prosperity and democracy in full respect of international law, the United Nations (UN) Charter and the relevant UN resolutions.

At the first EU-LAS summit in Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) on 24-25 February 2019, the leaders agreed to deepen Arab-European ties to enhance the stability, prosperity, and well-being of the two regions. Both sides agreed to boost cooperation towards security, conflict resolution and socio-economic development throughout the region. Leaders also reaffirmed the need to strengthen economic cooperation between the two regions to spur investment and sustainable growth. The summit in Egypt marked the start of a new dialogue between the EU and the LAS. Leaders committed to hold EU-LAS summits regularly.

Foreseen Activities

• Launching event
• Study visits to EU institutions and to the LAS including a training component on how the institutions work, their priorities, etc.
• Training programmes for EU and LAS officials
• Policy Briefs on themes of interest
• Thematic workshops/dialogue sessions
• Working sessions
• Participation of LAS officials in EU regional initiatives – sponsorship
• Summer Schools on Euro-Arab relations
• Closing event

News

Fourth El-Hiwar Summer School on Euro-Arab Relations, September 2024
Thematic Workshop on Green Transition and Climate Change, November 2023
Study visit on Migration for representatives of the League of Arab States, September 2023
Summer School on Euro-Arab futures: Anticipating challenges, crafting solutions and building resilience together, July 2023
Launching Event and Steering Committee of phase III of the El-Hiwar Project, March 2023

To learn more about the activities implemented during the previous phase of the project, click here

Multimedia Gallery

Want to hear what participants and stakeholders of the El-Hiwar Project have to say? Have a look at our videos and Flickr album!

 

Briefs - El-Hiwar Summer School on Euro-Arab Relations

In the framework of the first El-Hiwar Summer School on Euro-Arab Relations, which took place from 15 to 19 July 2019, participants were encouraged to and trained in the drafting of briefs on a topic of relevance for the future of Euro-Arab relations. The series is published below!

• Deepening the Euro-Arab Trade and Sustainable Development Goals, Chahir Zaki, February 2020
• Women's effective inclusion in peace processes as an indispensable tool to achieve a long-lasting peace: The case of the challenges for achieving gender equality at the Syria Peace talks, Dr. Ana B. Perianes, February 2020
• The relevance of International Water Law to the good governance of transboundary water resources in the Arab Region, Imad Antoine Ibrahim, February 2020 
• Partnering for Migration across the Mediterranean: The way forward, Clara Alberola, February 2020
• Old tools for new realities: EU Special Representatives as foreign policy tools in Euro-Arab security dialogue, Sharon Lecocq, January 2020

Clipping

• Euro-Arab people-to-people Relations, Stimson Centre, Desirée Custers, August 2021
• EU-LAS relations Factsheet, European External Action Service - EEAS, February 2019 (Arabic here) 
• New Wine into Old Wineskins? Addressing Patterns of Institutional Development in Euro-Mediterranean Relations in the Wake of the So-Called “EU Refugee Crisis”, Tommaso EMILIANI, EU officer at the College of Europe and Researcher, October 2018

Partners & Stakeholders

• The European Union, in particular the European Commission - DG NEAR and the EEAS
• The League of Arab States, in particular the General Secretariat and the thematic departments at the LAS Secretariat
• ECLASLO, the European Commission-League of Arab States Liaison Office
• The Member States of the European Union and the League of Arab States
• Civil Society Organisations willing to take part and contribute to the EU-LAS technical debate

Follow us on social media!

• Follow the hashtag #elhiwar on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram to keep updated!
• Join our Facebook Page! This page will allow the Euro-Arab community to keep growing and stay in contact.
• If you have participated in any of the El-Hiwar project activities, do not hesitate to ask to join the El-Hiwar Facebook group by contacting us at elhiwar@coleurope.eu. This group has been put at the service of participants, trainers and organizers who took part in project activities of the El-Hiwar project.

Meet the team

Lurdes Vidal | Team Leader

Emilio Lage Rodríguez | Project Coordinator

Stefanie Maertens | Event Organiser

Contact us!

Do not hesitate to contact us for any inquiry or to explore synergies between your project and the El-Hiwar Project: elhiwar@coleurope.eu