Oliver McTernan speaks at a conference on 'Strengthening the EU's role within the stabilisation and dialogue in the Middle East', Nicosia, Cyprus, 2nd-3rd July 2012

With Cyprus taking charge of the rotating presidency of the EU Council on 1st July 2012 and the island's position as an eastern, Mediterranean EU member, Middle East stabilisation is a key area of focus. This conference - addressing the effectiveness, nature and usefulness of Track Two Diplomacy - has been requested by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Cyprus. It will allow qualified speakers to share their expertise in order to formulate a proposal for EU Member States concerning a common vision on the usefulness of Second Track Dialogue for Middle East Security.Oliver spoke on the relevance and feasibility of a regular or permanent dialogue platform, focused on the Middle East region. He also commented on the concrete steps to be taken in order to establish a second track security dialogue between EU and Middle Eastern states.