European Union Aims to Strengthen Cooperation with Arab Nations

PaulGrecaud/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini said on Monday that European nations need to strengthen cooperation with nations around the world, primarily mentioning Muslim nations.

Mogherini’s statement comes one day before the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee is scheduled to meet with Nabil El Araby, the Secretary General of the League of the Arab States. That meeting is expected to cover “recent developments in the Mediterranean and in the Middle East, including Libya, Egypt, Syria and Iraq,” the European Parliament said.

In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, Mogherini said that “the threat is not only the one we faced in Paris but also spreading in many other parts of the world, starting with Muslim countries.”

“We need to strengthen our way of cooperating together,” Mogherini said, “first of all with Arab countries but also internally.”

“I’ve always said it is not an issue between Europe or the West and Islam,” Mogherini continued. “Terrorism and terrorist attacks are targeting most of all Muslims in the world so we need an alliance, we need a dialogue there to face the issue together. She called for all people to “take full responsibility for what we do and what we say,” urging respect.

“Drawing the line between the freedom of expression and respect has always been one of the main philosophical dilemmas,” said Mogherini, “but I think we need to look very carefully these days as we see what is happening in many parts of the world. What we need to do is face terrorism while respecting Islam.”

BBC News reports that the anti-terror “projects” would involve intelligence sharing and improved communication, particularly by improving the capacity of the EU to communicate in Arabic.

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