On July 12^th, in collaboration with the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Program, Jean Monnet, An-Najah University organized the “European Union and the Middle East” conference at Zafer Al-Masri Auditorium at the Old Campus. Attendees to the opening session included: Prof. Maher Abu Eid, University Vice President for Academic Affairs as representative of the University’s President Prof. Rami Hamdallah, Mr.

On July 12^th, in collaboration with the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Program, Jean Monnet, An-Najah University organized the “European Union and the Middle East” conference at Zafer Al-Masri Auditorium at the Old Campus. Attendees to the opening session included: Prof. Maher Abu Eid, University Vice President for Academic Affairs as representative of the University’s President Prof. Rami Hamdallah, Mr. Christian Berger, Representative of the EU to Palestine, Dr. Nayef Abu Khalaf, Head of the Department of Political Sciences at An-Najah and Chair of the Conference Organizing Committee, in addition to a number of local and international speakers, and members of the faculty staff and students at An-Najah.

At the beginning of the conference, Dr. Abu Khalaf welcomed the participants and guests to An-Najah and valued their interest in taking part in the conference and said: “An-Najah National University is organizing this one day international conference as part of its responsibilities in the “Global Governance” international working group. In June 2010, An-Najah University and 21 other universities worldwide started a three-year international cooperative research working group titled “Global Governance: A European Model for the Management of Disagreement and Conflict”.

“The working group’s goal is to review EU’s global foreign policy and participation in global governance and then make recommendations to EU policymakers regarding future EU strategies in global governance based on the research findings of today’s event.” Dr. Abu Khalaf explained.

Dr. Abu Khalaf also said that among the objectives of the conference is the creation of new hypotheses, methodologies, and research avenues on EU and Palestine / Middle East relations which will direct An-Najah University’s future research within the international working group, the generation of greater interaction between European and Palestinian scholars / policymakers which will provide greater insight into policymaking and cultural variations by scholars from each region, the exposure of An-Najah students, staff and the surrounding community to European policies, and finally generating expanded cooperative relationships between An-Najah and other universities in Europe.

Moreover, Dr. Abu Khalaf mentioned that the conference highlights An-Najah’s mission and philosophy and thanked the University President Prof. Rami Hamdallah who appreciated the importance of this event and provided all possible assistance to hold this conference.

Additionally, he said that this conference provides a unique opportunity for the participants to share and exchange ideas regarding the main subject which is the relationship between the EU and the Middle East. Also, the kind of participation in the conference is broad-based and a wide range of participants from Europe and Palestine have come to take part in this significant event.

Finally, Dr. Abu Khalaf thanked the Jean Monnet program for its support and valued the efforts of the International Relations Department, the Pubic Relations Department and the different members of the Organizing Committee to bring this conference to life.

Following that, Prof. Abu Eid presented a speech on behalf of Prof. Hamdallah, President of An-Najah University, in which he welcomed the guests and participants to the conference and said: “It is important that we note that this conference has become a reality through relations and partnerships we have strengthened over recent years, culminating in such events we now see before us”.

Moreover, Prof. Abu Eid thanked the different bodies who assisted in organizing and preparing for this event: “There are several parties I would like to mention. Firstly, our partner in implementing this conference, the Lifelong Learning Programme, has showed great support of our institution for which we are very grateful. In addition to this conference, just last year the Lifelong Learning Programme also enabled the implementation of a “Politics of the European Union” undergraduate module within our Department of Politics”.

He also thanked Dr. Curtis Doebbler for his continued support of An-Najah, and extended gratitude to the European Union and particularly Mr. Christian Berger for his determined contribution to promoting peace in the region.

He added: “Indeed, we here at An-Najah believe that as the largest university in Palestine, we are in a unique position of being educational leaders in promoting further interaction between Palestine and the EU and in doing so have embraced this responsibility through several key initiatives. For example, we have encouraged the pursuance of EU normative values through a variety of its inspired educational programmes, not least ERASMUS, TEMPUS and more recently through Jean Monnet funding.”

At the end of his speech, Prof. Abu Eid said “Promoting a positive future is the responsibility of us all here, and while today’s events that draw upon subjects areas that reflect the value of EU policy such as human rights, accession and democracy, it should be stressed that the research and subsequent debates presented here should not be limited to the confines of this conference”.

In his speech, Mr. Berger, Representative of the EU, addressed the relationships between the EU and Palestine with respect to different issues such as human rights, democracy and the reinforcement of the rule of order in the country. He also said that a lot has been achieved over the last few years with respect to preparing the Palestinian institutions for the coming Palestinian state.

Moreover, he spoke about the enhancement of the respect of human rights, the strengthening of the rule of civil society, supporting actions of human rights in the area and the promotion of democracy and rule of law. He also spoke about the rights of children and women, the support of free expression through media, the violations of human rights in Palestine including house demolitions, violence against property and the freedom of religion.

Mr. Berger also spoke about fighting corruption in Palestine through the different committees that were formed to achieve this purpose. In addition, he described the Jean Monnet Programme which is used to stimulate education and new thinking regarding policy issues.

At the end of his speech, Mr. Berger hoped that the conference would achieve fruitful outcomes and come with new policies and develop new relationships with European universities. After that, a question-answer session was organized in which the EU Representative answered the questions raised by the audience regarding the issues of democracy, reform and transparency.

Following the opening session, three main discussion sessions were organized each of which included several work papers and presentations by key international and local speakers. The first session was titled “The Role of the EU on the Question of Palestine” in which three papers were presented. The first one was titled “The EU’s Evolving Relationship towards Democratic Palestinian Institutions” by Dr. Karma Nabulsi, Professor of Politics and International Relations at St. Edmund Hall, University of Oxford. The second paper was titled “Human Rights Council and the Role of the EU towards Palestine” by Samah Atout, Relations with European Parliament, General Delegation of Palestine to EU, Belgium and Luxembourg. The third paper was presented by Dr. Raid Nairat, Lecturer at the Political Science Department at An-Najah National University, and was titled “EU Policies towards the Palestinian Question: Values and Interests”.

The second session addressed the issues of Turkey’s accession to the EU and included two papers titled “Turkey’s Accession to the EU: Prospects and Challenges” by Dr. Nayef Abu Khalaf, Head of the Political Sciences Department at An-Najah and Chair of the Conference’s Organizing Committee, and “The Political and Geostrategic Implications of Strategic Depth Doctrine for Turkey-EU Relations” by Dr. Ayman Yousef, Associate Professor of International Relations at the Arab-American University in Jenin. Keynote speaker also was Dr. Curtis Doebbler, renowned international human rights lawyer.

The third and final session addressed the protection of minorities in Europe in which three papers were presented. The first one was titled “Islamophobia as an Emerging Factor in the EU Foreign Policy in Relation to Muslim ‘Middle Eastern” Minorities within the EU” by Mrs. Fida Shafi’. The second paper was titled “Minority Rights in the EU: The Muslim Minority as a Case Study” by Mrs. Maha Masri, Lecturer at the Political Sciences Department at An-Najah National University The final paper was presented by Dr. Ahmed Ra’fat Ghodieh, Chairman and Lecturer at the Department of Geography, An-Najah National University and was titled “Euro-Arab Relations: Reality and Challenges”.

At the conclusion of the conference, the participants presented a number of recommendations they called for more focus on activating dialogue between the Arab countries and the European countries with respect to all issues of common interest such as democracy, human rights and the protection of minorities. They also called upon the EU to play a more vital effective role towards the Palestinian cause especially the political side of it, as well as the rights of the Palestinians inside and outside the country.

Furthermore, they called upon the EU to play a greater role in terminating the conflict regarding Cyprus being the obstacle that stands in the way of Turkey’s accession to the EU, and demanded more efforts to be exerted in order to protect minorities in the EU countries.