PRAGUE — The European Union's policy in the Middle East is the litmus test of its common foreign and security policy. Many Europeans share this belief, but as the EU considers entering the fray of Middle East peace talks, it must respond to former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's jibe that in the region "you are payers, not players."
Yet Europe's potential contribution should not be underestimated. Europe's financial contribution to the Middle East has been consistent and impressive. Between 1995 and 1999, it spent roughly 3.4 billion euro in the region, to which the European Investment Bank added a further 4.8 billion euro in loans.
From 2000 to 2006, Europe spent another 5.35 billion euro, and the EIB approved 6.4 billion euro in loans. This year, the European Commission has committed 320 million euro in Palestine alone.