Brussels, 03/02/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday, the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah, met EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner and EU High Representative for CFSP, Javier Solana. At the last moment, a meeting was also arranged with EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson (the two men were otherwise due to meet at the weekend in Muscat (Oman) but the Muscat meeting had to be cancelled following timetable problems). A 'technical' EU delegation will be travelling to Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) on 6 February to examine the remaining issues before an agreement can be initialled, hopefully by May this year. Formal talks may be held in Brussels in March to discuss the remaining outstanding items, namely investment, public procurement and services.
Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah also met with members of the European Parliament's EPP-ED group, like Lorenzo Cesa (Italy) and Avril Doyle (Ireland), with whom he discussed the dialogue launched last year in Bahrain on closer links between religions. Press statements suggest all the talks focussed on the case of the Danish caricatures and reaction to them in the Muslim world (see EUROPE 9123). European sources suggest the MEPs told him they deplored the failure to respect religious tenets but that they also had huge respect for freedom of speech and the free press. Whilst expressing his deep regret and solidarity with the Muslim world over the press presentation of the Prophet Mohammed in Denmark recently, Cesa reiterated that European states did not control the media in Europe, and that this freedom is an element to be cherished. Cesa added that the recently launched inter-religious dialogue should be built upon and the next meeting should be prepared for. Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah said that Cesa had urged him to visit the Vatican.
On the question of funding for the Palestinians, the GCC confirmed its desire to continue supporting the Palestinians but called on the international community to join in. Welcoming the EU for its backing for the Palestinians, the GCC asked it to continue its aid to encourage Hamas to respect the international pledges made by the Palestinian Authority in the past.
Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah said he had raised the Iranian nuclear issue in all his meetings (at the recent GCC Summit in Abu Dhabi, extreme concern was voiced on the Iranian issue). Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah said in Brussels that international effort should make all the Middle East a nuclear-free zone, including Israel, in order to avoid double standards.