The EU and Constitutionalism in Egypt: EU Foreign and Security Policy Challenges with a Special Focus on the Changing Political Setting in the MENA-region'

Abstract

The academic works on transition processes following the Arab revolts in the Middle East since the beginning of 2011 have so far mostly focused on the extraordinary character of the events which took place in Tunis, Cairo, Benghazi, etc. - attempting to explain the reasons for the in many ways surprising development in the region. This article analyses how strategic relations between the EU and Egypt are being challenged by constitutional changes in Egypt following the political development since early 2011. Initially the article describes European-Egyptian relations prior to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak by briefly going back to early contacts between the EEC and President Gamal Abdel Nasser and how more elaborate agreements developed up to recent times. Taking this historical point of departure the article characterizes the role of the EU in connection with the development since the start of the unrest in Egypt followed by an analysis of the European-Egyptian relationship...