EU Policy and US Strategy Towards the Persian Gulf Region: Different Approaches for a Common Goal

This paper will outline the policies of the European Union and the United States in a region of critical strategic importance – the Persian Gulf. It will underline their different conceptions with regards of how to secure and to render the region more stable. Despite the deep differences between a number of EU countries, which emerged dramatically during the 2003 Iraqi crisis, the European Union has issued a joint policy towards the Persian Gulf. This policy is essentially based on the equation: “economy” = “development” which leads to “security and stability” The economy approach is a tool which is really trans-European. It means that despite some differences in emphasis on few geopolitical issues on the part of its members, the economy remains the fundamental pillar on which the real “European Foreign Policy”, will be built.