EU, Arab leaders call for joint solutions to ME conflicts

European and Arab leaders called for joint solutions to Middle East conflicts destabilising both regions while one cautioned on Monday against raising utopian expectations from their first-ever summit.

Around 40 EU and Arab leaders held the last day of their two-day summit in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh stressing how their challenges were interlinked, from migration to terrorism.

EU sources told AFP that many leaders continued on Monday to voice concerns about the wars in Yemen and Syria, the unrest in Libya and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But one EU source told AFP that a smaller session focused on these problems did not take place to allow more time for all leaders to give their speeches.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the summit was important for acknowledging cultural, religious and other differences while trying to find “joint solutions,” such as in Syria.

He cautioned against raising high expectations.

“If you think that by seeing each other for 24 hours in Sharm el-Sheikh and it’s peace in the world and in the region, then you believe in Father Christmas,” Bettel told reporters.

He said the summit was nonetheless important for laying the groundwork for future talks as well as a way to establish personal contacts.

“The fate of the European Union depends to a significant degree on the fate of the countries of the Arab League,” German Chancellor Angel Merkel told journalists.

 “We saw this in the context of migration, of refugees, and therefore the task is to nurture multilateral cooperation, even if at times there are very different viewpoints.”

 Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel earlier echoed an EU admission it should have long ago held a full summits with leaders of a neighbouring region whose fates are linked.

 “The situations in this (Arab) region cause instability, insecurity, first of all for the region,” Michel told journalists before joining the last day of talks.

 “There are countries which have numerous refugees following conflicts in the region, in Syria for example, but that also has an impact in Europe,” Michel said.

Like the EU as a whole, Michel’s own coalition government has split over migration, which four years ago became Europe’s worst such crisis since World War II.