Video message by Commissioner Šuica at the The Economist's 30th Annual Government Roundtable: Progress in an Age of Upheaval – “Power and influence: US, Europe and the changing Middle East”

Ladies and gentlemen,

I cannot be there with you, but I couldn't miss the chance to send a message to this important roundtable.

We are going through an age of upheaval .

This was crystal-clear, from the war in Gaza to the Hormuz crisis.

Even with a deal now on the table, I think we all see how fragile the situation is.

And we cannot entirely see the extent of the consequences for the day after – for the Middle East and for the global economy.

The core of the European Union's foreign policy is simple:

We must address upheaval by creating stability, peace and prosperity.

And the only way to do it is building robust partnerships.

Building a corridor of trust and prosperity.

In the spirit of mutual respect and joint responsibility.

That is the purpose of our Pact for the Mediterranean.

To create a common Mediterranean space where we work together with our partners to address shared challenges.

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Let me give you some examples:

We want our people to connect to each other.

So, we are creating the Mediterranean University, an initiative connecting universities across the region, boosting learning mobility and supporting people-to-people contacts.

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We want each community around the Mediterranean and in the Middle East to have the means to address the challenges they face – the challenges we share. Growing new businesses and adding real value to all our economies.

So, we have launched initiatives like T-MED – investing in renewable energy, powering up the region and creating new opportunities on all shores of the Mediterranean and beyond.

And we are investing in projects like the Medusa cable system, building the connectivity of the region.

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We want people to live safely and peacefully.

Protected from hybrid threats or terrorism.

Not at the mercy of organised crime, being smuggled or trafficked into Europe.

We are coordinating with our partners, sharing knowledge and technical assistance.

So that our fight against hostile actors and organised crime is more effective.

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Our regional and cross-regional work goes hand in hand with our bilateral partnerships – for example, our Strategic and Comprehensive Partnerships with Tunisia, Egypt, or Jordan, and our future Strategic Partnership Agreements with the Gulf.

We are also building our resilience, strengthening free trade and connectivity through projects like IMEC.

The Gulf plays a special role here – being a crucial link to the Indian Ocean and to Asia, and representing a big market in their own right.

Europe stood in solidarity as our Gulf partners were attacked.

And our reliability, our standing by international law and solidarity to partners, was essential and appreciated.

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Ladies and gentlemen,

We are going through an age of upheaval .

But as always, progress can be found in our work to build stability and prosperity.

Europe has been a trusted partner in all major Middle East crises.

Europe has been an honest broker, a major humanitarian and development actor – from Palestine, to Syria, to Lebanon, and most recently the Gulf.

And Europe intends to play a key role in shaping a stable, peaceful and prosperous Middle East and Gulf.

I wish you a very fruitful roundtable.

Thank you.

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