‘Road to Schuman’ conference shapes common understanding of security challenges

AMMAN —  The European Union Delegation to Jordan and the Centre for Strategic Studies of the University of Jordan hosted together a “Road to Schuman” Conference, according to a statement for The Jordan Times. 

This conference, entitled “The European Union and its Southern Neighbourhood: A Strategic Dialogue on Defence, Maritime Security, and Transnational Crime” brought together one hundred security and defence experts and practitioners, members of Parliament, diplomats, armed forces and security services. 

Zaid Eyadat, director of the Centre for Strategic Studies, said that the current events have far-reaching impacts on the politics of the region. “Though the humanitarian impact is a non-ignorable factor in the conflict, we must also consider the war’s impact on regional geopolitics. The current war in Gaza holds the potential to destabilise the Middle East, and it must be resolved as soon as possible…”

In his opening remarks, Pierre-Christophe Chatzisavas, ambassador of the European Union to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, said: “With the return of power politics on European soil, but also in the Middle East and beyond, the threats to international peace and security are evolving. We see brutal and open wars of various intensities surrounding us, but also the rise of hybrid warfare and the weaponisation of all human activities. We have to forge strong partnerships with our Allies and we came to Amman to discuss about that today.” 

The first panel discussion included Karim Haggag, director for Global Affairs of the American University of Cairo, EU Ambassador Hugues Mingarelli and Hanna Shelest from the Foreign Policy Council “Ukrainian Prism”. Participants and experts discussed the evolving EU security and defence agenda, and the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the relations between the EU and its southern partners, according to the statement.

The second panel discussion was focused on maritime Security and special attention was given to the Red Sea and the new EU maritime operation ASPIDES, with interventions by Abdel Monem Said from the Egyptian Senate, and EU Ambassador Patrick Simonnet. 

A third panel allowed Mohammed Farghal, former director general of the King Abdullah II Centre for Design and Development, Hasan Momani, dean of the Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II School of Political Science and International Studies of the University of Jordan, and Brigadier General Riad Jariri from the General Intelligence Directorate to discuss border security challenges and the fight against transnational crime in the Middle East.

The “Road to Schuman” conference, which concluded with remarks by EU Ambassador Patrick Simonnet and Jawad Anani, former foreign minister of Jordan, is part of a series of events to discuss partners’ security concerns, listen to their views and identify future avenues for cooperation, in preparation for the Schuman Security and Defence Forum, the statement said. 

The second edition of the Schuman Security and Defence Forum will take place in Brussels on 28-29 May 2024. 

It will bring together high-level representatives of the European Union, EU Member states and partner countries, international and regional organisations, as well as leading think-tanks and academia. 

The Forum aims at shedding light on how ongoing and potential peace, security and defence partnerships can respond to the most pressing common security threats and challenges and contribute to global peace and security as well as uphold the international rules-based order and multilateralism.