As the Arab uprisings struggle to transform themselves into democratic states, ALDE is asking "How can the EU help existing moderate Islamist movements post-Arab Spring?" .  This seminar organised by the ALDE group and chaired  by MEPs Niccolo Rinaldi (Italia dei Valori,Italy) and Metin Kazak (Movement for Rights and Freedoms, Bulgaria) today in the European Parliament heard from intellectuals from the Arabic region and  important members from the academic world who have contributed to a deep analysis of the current situation before and after the Arab Spring.

Niccolo Rinaldi co-organiser outlined the main challenges facing moderate Islamic reformers and non-violent protesters as they strive for recognition   "The EU  needs to shape new trade policy -we consider that trade is a non violent instrument.   We need to democratize the economic process, focusing on microcredit, small and medium enterprises that represent the 80% of  jobs  in the Southern Mediterranean area and also  increase  fellowships for students from the Arab World.  We need to think about a real institutional framework with the South Mediterranean and Arab world to ensure the development of security and political process. 

He continued "The final and most important challenge is the cultural challenge. By that I mean the challenge to overcome the false idea that democracy is only for the Western world and that  there are countries that will never be democratic because Islam is incompatible with the respect of human rights."

Metin Kazak concluded '' Bringing this conference to the attention of colleagues engaging with South Asia, the ASEAN region, the Maghreb and the Mashreq is an important first step in a bigger process. The perspectives we discussed today are intended to inform and lay the basis for more analysis in the role Europe can play in the evolving situation in the Middle East, North Africa-and indeed, South and South East Asia. This requires us to reconsider our worldview, to look beyond just states or regions and be innovative in how we approach the issues that face us today.''