Thread on total irrelevance of 🇪🇺Europe in Middle East diplomacy (highlighted again in 🇮🇱🇦🇪 events) and why this matters.
cc @EUinIsrael @JosepBorrellF @HelgaSchmid_EU @vonderleyen @eu_eeas
cc @EUinIsrael @JosepBorrellF @HelgaSchmid_EU @vonderleyen @eu_eeas
1/n @EL_AL_AIRLINES plane from Tel Aviv to UAE carried no European officials and no 🇪🇺 flags. And Europe had no role in the 1979 Israel-Egypt and 1994 Jordan-Israel peace treaty. Why not? 
2/n Almost all EU diplomats, foreign policy officials, "experts", etc operate through simplistic misguided prisms based on post-1945 images of normative (soft) power, rules-based international order, etc.Totally inapplicable to MidEast - as a result, Europe has little credibility
3/n The Israel-UAE agreement is based on realpolitik and interests -- security (Iran threat), economic, cyber, etc. European diplomacy in 21st century has no capacity for contributing in these dimensions.
4/n Europe's foreign policy on Israel offers nothing positive and tangible. Their main tools are threats of sanctions (aimed at Israel only), ritual anti-Israel UN votes, and massive funding to fringe opposition NGOs under facade of aid, human rights. Total contrast to US links
5/n For Palestinians, Europe is a very reliable cash cow and amplifier of slogans, including powerlessness, victimhood, etc. No matter what Palestinians do (terror, incitement, ICC lawfare), European money keeps flowing. But for substance, Pal leaders always turn to US.
6/n Europe is narrowly focused on the Palestinian issue (and stuck in the 1970s); they treat Israel condescendingly, and their "peace proposals" and frequent declarations consist entirely of empty slogans.
7/n Systematically stuck in the 1970s (or 1950s), Europe is blind to Israel's role as a major regional actor, interacting with other countries on the basis of significant capabilities and shared interests.
8/n Opposition to the Iranian strategic threat is a major catalyst for Israel-Gulf cooperation. In contrast, Europe's policy on Iran is based on slogans and reviving the ill-conceived #JCPOA, allowing the regime to acquire nuclear weapons. These policies are non-starters.
9/n To play any useful role in the region, Europe needs an entirely new approach to Israel, Iran, UAE and other Gulf states. The people and myths that have dominated Europe's approach for decades need to retired and replaced by diplomats and experts with both feet on the ground.
