Opinion Corner 3 - How the EU is viewed in the wider Middle East
The one region of the world where the EU struggles in terms of favourability ratings is the wider Middle East. The five countries that view the EU most unfavourably – Pakistan, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey and Jordan – are all predominantly Muslim countries. In Pakistan, only nine percent of respondents said they had a favourable opinion of the Union, according to the 2009 Pew poll. 72% of Jordanians and 57% of Palestinians said they viewed the EU unfavourably, despite the billions of dollars Brussels has pumped into the Israeli occupied West Bank. The level of support is not much higher in Israel, where only 40% of respondents see the EU in a positive light.
Pull-out figure: 9% of Pakistanis view the EU favourably
So how does the EU manage to antagonise both Israelis and Palestinians, moderate Muslim countries like Turkey and Jordan and more hardline Islamic states like Pakistan? Some commentators believe it is because of the EU’s closeness to the United States – which also receives rock-bottom ratings in countries like Pakistan and Turkey. However, others say the Union only has itself to blame.
Shada Islam, European Policy Centre
Pull-out quote: “Europe didn’t fulfil the aspirations people had.”
Pull-out figure: 9% of Pakistanis view the EU favourably
So how does the EU manage to antagonise both Israelis and Palestinians, moderate Muslim countries like Turkey and Jordan and more hardline Islamic states like Pakistan? Some commentators believe it is because of the EU’s closeness to the United States – which also receives rock-bottom ratings in countries like Pakistan and Turkey. However, others say the Union only has itself to blame.
Shada Islam, European Policy Centre
Pull-out quote: “Europe didn’t fulfil the aspirations people had.”