Julien Barnes-Dacey

MENA Programme Director at the European Council on Foreign Relations @ECFR. Europe-based, once upon a time in Syria and Egypt

[Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey]

Our big @ecfr 360° reaction piece to the Iran conflict, assessing regional & global positioning, risks and implications as the war plays out in devastating fashion across the Middle East - and beyond https://t.co/FWOLy474rW

[Hugh Lovatt @h_lovatt]

Israel is yet to abide by its obligations under the 1st phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal.
Here is @ECFRMena's tracker, based on a confidential summary drawn up by Arab mediators in April👇
https://t.co/Fp5RXLBTKo

[Dr. Cinzia Bianco @Cinzia_Bianco]

After suffering from blockades piracy and closures leaders in both Europe and the Gulf have a top priority: ease dependency on chokepoints like Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab. Me and @arturo_varvelli help them think how for @ECFRMena: https://t.co/xyXNfmZFnn

[ECFR MENA @ECFRMena]

🔴 NEW commentary by @muhammadshehad2: A Northern Ireland-style decommissioning model could help unlock a path to peace in Gaza. Europe should work with influential Board of Peace members to push the US toward a more realistic approach to Hamas’s weapons. https://t.co/bDKbzzqAYs

[Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey]

Happy to contribute this piece as part of wider @CidobBarcelona project, Peace through strength? Questioning the Middle East’s (dis)order, led by @MoussaBk & @samu_abrami https://t.co/6BMo9ZmwZr

[CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs) @CidobBarcelona]

“Europeans need a more coherent and strategic approach in the Middle East in order to reverse their declining influence and secure important regional interests”, @jbdacey examines in this #CIDOBReport Europe's relation with its southern neighbourhood
https://t.co/8Bqqv8Lg4A

[Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey]

Introducing our @ecfr "Iran Nuclear Monitor," an interactive & continually updated dashboard assessing the state & trajectory of Iran's nuclear program after a year of Israeli & US bombings - authored by Ellie Geranmayeh https://t.co/lcSwnDUZCv

[ECFR @ecfr]

Iran’s attacks on the Gulf have convinced Abu Dhabi that accommodation with Tehran has failed. Leaving OPEC reflects the UAE’s turn towards strategic autonomy, harder security alliances and a regional order less constrained by old consensuses, writes @Cinzia_Bianco. @ECFRMena

https://t.co/LYgoIFfHAe

[Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey]

Pact or no pact, essentially a return to the pre-conflict status? Renewed regional diplomacy, but distrust will be deep, won't have any real guarantors, and will still be very vulnerable to rupture if US/Israel renew conflict

[Financial Times @FT]

Saudi Arabia floats Middle Eastern non-aggression pact with Iran https://t.co/9o3PMxoxJe

[Hugh Lovatt @h_lovatt]

On 14 May, President Abbas' party will hold its eighth General Congress which will (re)elect Fatah's top leadership bodies. Its main internal battle lines will be over patronage, not ideology, as senior members vie for power.
Here is @ecfr's backgrounder https://t.co/mIjdTkmwig

[Beth Oppenheim @BethOppenheim]

Trump forced truces on Israel - but Netanyahu has 'unfinished' business with Iran and Hezbollah. Europeans must act to prevent the next round. My latest for ECFR: https://t.co/W79wTzyctu @ECFRMena @ecfr

[Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey]

Amid deep ongoing challenges in Syria, now amplified by regional war, very useful to exchange with @AsaadHShaibani during an @ECFRMena lunch on the day that the EU & Syria launch their high-level political dialogue

[Hamidreza Azizi @HamidRezaAz]

I’m very excited that my book, The Axis of Resistance: Iran, Israel, and the Struggle for the Middle East, is already available in the UK and across Europe.

Order your copy here:
https://t.co/qvYZmTB3qm

[Sam Heller | سام هيلر @AbuJamajem]

My new report for @CenturyIntl, on what a fight over trucking and the Shara' government's abrupt policy swings tell us about the new Syria: https://t.co/Ga1POSYPxo

[Aron Lund @aronlund]

Important @WarOnTheRocks piece by Jack Schwartz, who sounds the alarm about the security implications of the renewed mass displacement and humanitarian plight of Lebanon’s Palestinian and Syrian refugees, coupled with the defunding of UNRWA. https://t.co/t8F1gNtDJO

[Michael Ohnmacht @M_OhnmachtEU]

كان لي شرف استضافة احتفال بيوم أوروبا في #دمشق أمس، للمرة الأولى منذ 16 عاماً.

لحظة تحمل الكثير من الأمل، وتشكل بداية فصل جديد في العلاقات بين الاتحاد الأوروبي و #سوريا 🇪🇺🇸🇾

شكراً لكل من شارك في هذه المناسبة، من ممثلو السلطات السورية، السلك الدبلوماسي، وممثلو المجتمع المدني.

[Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey]

Delighted to be joining @IBEI Mediterranean & Middle East summer school this year with brilliant colleagues, led & curated by the great @solerlecha who has more details below

[Eduard Soler Lecha @solerlecha]

First time directing the Barcelona Summer School of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Been part of it since day one, and I couldn't ask for better company: extraordinary faculty, great partners. Here's the 2026 programme. 🧵

[ECFR MENA @ECFRMena]

📖 NEW @ecfr policy brief by @Tmegrisi: The EU's Pact for the Mediterranean is timely but risks defaulting to short-term, piecemeal deals rather than delivering meaningful regional integration. 🧵https://t.co/on5P9uUF9U

[ECFR MENA @ECFRMena]

🧵With clock ticking on US-Iran talks, both sides want to dictate terms but neither truly can, and must abandon maximalist demands. Ellie Geranmayeh in @ForeignAffairs unpacks conditions & terms needed for lasting ceasefire before dangerous new phase emerges ⬇️

[ECFR @ecfr]

🎧 This week @markhleonard welcomes @j_kobzova to discuss how the war in Iran is reshaping Ukraine’s war effort. What began as cautious optimism in Kyiv has turned into concern, as American military resources—especially air-defence systems—are redirected to the Middle East, leaving Ukraine increasingly exposed to Russian attacks.

Listen to the new podcast episode: https://t.co/1zEUXC3tpp

[Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey]

Pleased to contribute to this new @CidobBarcelona report led by @MoussaBk & @samu_abrami with a chapter on European ties to the Middle East: Between Strategic Drift and Transactional Realism https://t.co/vDT8aid9Aa

[CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs) @CidobBarcelona]

The Middle East is once again at the centre of global attention. Are we witnessing the emergence of a new regional order? This #CIDOBReport, coordinated by @MoussaBk and @samu_abrami, brings together expert analyses of key regional and external actors
📕https://t.co/AJQzL1LASc

[ECFR @ecfr]

If Trump follows through on his threat to bomb Iran’s energy infrastructure, the Strait of Hormuz is likely to shut down entirely and the catastrophic energy crisis will deepen. Europeans need to push for an urgent and sustainable ceasefire, write Ellie Geranmayeh and @JyShapiro.

Read the latest policy alert: https://t.co/TRPrFlpBkG