The chain of revolts in Maghreb and Mashriq countries has compelled the European Union to redefine the assumptions of its policy towards the region in question. The sluggish reaction of European states to the developments known as „the Arab Spring” has shown that they see those events as a source of threat to European interests. This paper attempts to indicate the erroneousness of this conviction and submit arguments supporting the thesis that the aforementioned changes should be understood as a chance for resuming the EU’s dialogue with its southern neighbors, a dialogue that Brussels is currently not able to continue as a result of the EU’s current paralysis in the Mediterranean area.