ABSTRACT
The beginning of wisdom in approaching this subject is to recognize that the political statements of individual West European countries, and the European Economic Community as a whole, differ in their very nature from those of the local protagonists and those of the superpowers. West European Middle East diplomacy is thus less than meets the eye because it has never had the base of power, either military or economic, from which to wage an active, suasive diplomacy. The Arabs have had a definite interest in a higher profile West European diplomatic role — at least those Arab states for whom good relations with the West are important. The combination of European empathy for the Palestinians, and the European failure to appreciate properly the diplomatic tactics of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its Arab supporters, had interesting and unintended consequences.
