At their first-ever Summit, the countries of the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) pledged in a joint declaration to elevate the EU-GCC Strategic Partnership “to the next level”.
“We are ready to build a strategic partnership fit for the 21st century”, explained the High Representative of the Union, Josep Borrell, after the summit.
Opening the meeting, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that “the future of our two regions is strongly connected”, inviting the partners to act together to “change the course of history”.
For his part, the other co-chair of the summit, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bon Hamad Al Thani, explained that the relationship was based on “respect for international law, non-interference in internal affairs and shared prosperity”.
Safety challenges
The European leaders present highlighted, in particular, the security challenges now facing Europe and the Gulf, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the escalation of conflict in the Middle East. The declaration adopted by the EU and the GCC, which took many hours to negotiate, focuses on the international situation. The two blocs have thus decided to strengthen their partnership for “lasting stability and peace”.
“Today’s summit comes at a critical time. The conflicts that surround us demand urgent responses. We all know how hard it is to overcome the bitterness of war. But it can be done”, declared the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at the opening of the summit.
On his arrival at the Summit, the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, also called for joint efforts by the two regions to guarantee peace. “It will only be possible when reasonable people sit around the table, and we know that many Gulf countries have played a facilitating role in this respect”, he said, referring to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In the declaration, the two parties call for ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, the release of hostages and access for humanitarian aid. There was also a call for restraint, de-escalation and to prevent the conflict spreading to the whole region.
Both regions also stress the importance of diplomatic engagement with Iran in this context. The partners express a shared interest in close dialogue on Iran’s nuclear, ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle programmes.
Concerned about security and navigation threats in the Red Sea, the EU and the GCC aim, according to their declaration, to develop a common approach to maritime security in the context of the EU’s structured dialogue on security, in order to address relevant issues in the Red Sea.
On Ukraine, the EU wanted to obtain a series of commitments from the Gulf States. This was not the case. “There are differences in the way we see the war of aggression”, acknowledged Mr Borrell. Thus, the partners are not directly condemning the Russian aggression, only the attacks against civilians and against critical and civilian infrastructure. Both parties settled on referring to the United Nations General Assembly resolution, which “deplores in the strongest terms the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine in violation of Article 2(4) of the Charter” and “demands that the Russian Federation immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders”. The two blocs underscored “the need to reach, as soon as possible, a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations”.
At a time when Russian attacks on grain vessels and port infrastructure have resumed, the two regions are also stressing the importance of supporting all efforts to facilitate grain exports.
Trade
Both blocs agree that trade and investment relations between them can and must be deepened. This is why they want to relaunch negotiations on the EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement. These were put on hold in 2009. This agreement must include an investment chapter, according to the joint declaration adopted by the summit participants.
“Direct investment between our regions exceeded 100 billion dollars in 2022, in various strategic sectors. These figures are impressive. The strategic partnership has the potential to go even further”, said the GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi.
The Gulf region receives a large volume of direct European investment, and the EU aims to increase these flows still further. According to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, expanding the network of European chambers of commerce in the region is part of this approach.
The various existing cooperation frameworks between the EU and the GCC should also enable them to “continue to explore tailor-made agreements supporting trade and investment”.
Energy and connectivity
On the energy front, the two parties say they are committed to increasing their collaboration on renewable energy and hydrogen, energy efficiency, renewable electricity and abatement and removal technologies such as carbon capture and utilisation and storage.
They also agree to assess the prospects for joint connectivity.
“By investing in interconnections and infrastructure, your region could become a clean energy hub, linking Europe, Asia and Africa”, said Ms von der Leyen.
In addition, the partners want to promote cooperation within the IMEC corridor (‘India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor’), the first-ever economic corridor linking India, the Middle East and Europe.
With regard to the development of hydrogen, Slovenia’s Prime Minister, Robert Golob, acknowledged to the press that the countries of the Gulf enjoyed favourable conditions for the development of partnerships in the field of renewable hydrogen, with “an abundance of sunshine and land as a prerequisite for setting up large hydrogen production facilities”, as well as logistic infrastructures already in place.
In their final declaration, the EU and the Gulf States also reiterate their respective climate commitments and their desire to reach an ambitious decision on climate financing for developing countries at COP29 (see EUROPE 13504/14).
Speaking to the media, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi insisted on the lifting of visas for GCC countries.
A far cry from the Khashoggi affair (see EUROPE 12340/16), where Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was accused of involvement in the murder of the Saudi journalist in 2018, the next summit will take place in Saudi Arabia in 2026. The partners thus agreed to continue their dialogue on a regular basis by organising a summit every two years.
To see the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/dx5 (Original version in French by Pauline Denys, Léa Marchal and Camille-Cerise Gessant)