Brussels, 01/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Meeting in Manama (Bahrain) on 30 June, the joint EU-Gulf states cooperation council, which is co-chaired by Catherine Ashton and Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed bin Mohamed Al Khalifa, the foreign minister of the host country, which currently holds the presidency of the Cooperation Council of the six Gulf states (GCC), expressed their agreement on the need for an urgent “political solution” to “put an end to the bloodbath in Syria” and to ensure the success of a “peace conference” in Geneva.
They did not discuss supplies of weapons to the dissidents in Syria, but the Gulf states, especially the Saudis, called on the EU in separate declarations rigourously to apply its decision to lift the embargo on arms to Syria. There was a unanimous condemnation of the role played by the Lebanese Hezbollah. The EU reiterated that it has channelled an additional €400 million to Syria's neighbouring countries (€1.25 billion in aid altogether), particularly for humanitarian initiatives for Syrian refugees.
Officially, the human rights situation in the region, particularly in Bahrain, which has spent nearly two years under increasing tensions which have been decisively repressed, was not on the agenda. In her declarations to the press, Ashton, who had been questioned on the issue by Human Rights Watch, said that “we need to have frank and open discussions on issues such as human rights”.
In their final declaration, both sides welcomed the smooth running of their work together under the 1988 cooperation agreement, the main plank of which is to continue political dialogue on all conflicts in the region, particularly the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Their declaration contains the usual reference to UN resolutions, particularly on a rejection of any change to the border situation as of 1967, on the Arab peace initiative and support for American efforts led by Secretary of State John Kerry. They also discussed Iran and the common concern at the risk of the development of Iranian nuclear capacity. The joint opinion is that Tehran must be encouraged to work towards a diplomatic solution and be reminded of its obligations towards the international community and to respect the monitoring rules of the specialist bodies. The resumption of cooperation between Kuwait and Iraq was welcomed and both sides took note of the “difficult situation” being experienced by Yemen (a country of the region, but which is not a member of the GCC).
It is also worth noting that the joint declaration refers to European efforts to come out of economic crisis and stabilise the eurozone. The joint aim is to “overcome the effects of the financial crisis and to support and encourage the protection of mutual investments, which will facilitate the development of economic cooperation between them”. In Brussels, it was noted with interest that bilateral trade has grown by 45% since 2010, to €145 billion a year. The EU and the GCC still hope to conclude a free-trade agreement, which has been under negotiation since 1990 but struggling for years (aside from differences of opinion on levels of customs duties and the issue of double energy pricing, interest has appeared to diminish gradually whereas the conclusion of talks has been regularly announced at each meeting). However, “99% of the provisions of the agreement have been accomplished”, the Bahraini minister told the end press conference, quoted by the Kuwaiti agency Kuna. (FB/transl.fl)