Cameron’s call

DAVID CAMERON does not have a good record when it comes to persuading his European Union colleagues of the need for financial reform. So it remains to be seen how receptive his fellow leaders are to the Prime Minister’s proposal that future EU aid to Middle Eastern states be made contingent on meaningful political reform.

Certainly, Mr Cameron is right to identify these funds as being wasted in the past. The EU’s so-called Neighbourhood Policy for the Middle East has been pouring £180m a year into the coffers of various Arab autocrats in the cause of political reform but has seen very little in return for its money. As the Prime Minister pointed out, there is little point in Egypt establishing a consumer protection agency while doing nothing to protect its consumers from torture by its own security services.

However, while Mr Cameron’s instincts are undoubtedly right, it is questionable as to whether this is the right time to be making such a call, particularly when Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi seems to be readying himself for a last-ditch stand against protesters, a confrontation which could yet turn into a bloodbath.

The Middle East is in turmoil and the West must play its hand very carefully. Its previous support for the very dictators who are now being deposed by their own people has compromised its moral authority and, even when it tries to back reform, its efforts all too often backfire, as the sorry story of the EU Neighbourhood Policy reveals.

Mr Cameron’s heart is in the right place, but in the struggle for Middle Eastern democracy, now is not the time for Brussels to start dictating terms.