ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the EU–World Bank cooperation in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a region where great hopes have been matched by equally great disillusions. Against the background of hybrid delegation described in Chapters 2 and 3, the following pages rely on role theory to investigate role conceptions and expectations of the two organizations in MENA. Matching respective perceptions with third-party evidence, the EU’s performance is then analyzed, along the framework presented in Chapters 5 and 6. 1 Identifying the main institutional incentives and external conditions that have influenced the EU–WB cooperation in MENA, the chapter explores Brussels’ specific instances of contributed effectiveness to development aims in trade, democracy promotion, approximation to the acquis and support to the poor living in MENA conflict-affected areas.
