The head of the delegation of seven MEPs visiting the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 April, David McAllister (EPP, German), called on Tuesday for the EU-UAE partnership to be brought to the strategic level.
“This is the first visit of Committee on Foreign Affairs Members in more than a decade. It is crucial to engage in strengthening our dialogue as the UAE is a key interlocutor in the region. Today, the EU-UAE partnership is getting stronger and stronger, and we should bring it to the strategic level”, he emphasised in a statement.
According to the European Parliament, MEPs highlighted the envisaged Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA), which includes security, sustainable energy, climate, high-tech, digital, and education, among other areas. This agreement would establish a robust political and legal framework to strengthen cooperation.
On 10 April, the EU and the UAE also announced the launch of negotiations for a free trade agreement (see EUROPE 13619/19).
During their stay, the MEPs discussed the need for lasting peace in Ukraine, praised the Emirates’ mediation efforts and congratulated Abu Dhabi on its unwavering and effective humanitarian aid in the Middle East. Recent developments in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, the Red Sea, Sudan and the Horn of Africa were discussed, as well as the destabilising role of Iran and its allies in the region.
MEPs also encouraged the United Arab Emirates to strengthen its alignment with international standards on political and civil rights.
However, on 15 April, alongside this visit, the European External Action Service expressed its dismay about the breaking of the de facto moratorium on the death penalty in February 2025. “The EU reaffirms its strong and unequivocal opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances. Capital punishment violates the inalienable right to life and is incompatible with human dignity”, stressed the spokesman in a statement. An Indian woman working as a domestic helper was executed on 15 February after being found guilty of killing her employer’s baby. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)