Riyadh, 09/05/2007 (Agence Europe) - At the joint cooperation council meeting in Riyadh on 8 May, the EU and the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) agreed to meet once again in June in order to finalise negotiations on a free trade agreement. The six GCC ministers were present along with 12 of their European colleagues, led by German Foreign Minister and current President of the Council of the EU Frank-Walter Steinmeier. Germany and Saudi Arabia, who currently chair the GCC, undertook to take forward the free-trade negotiations (opened in 1988) in the hope that they can be finalised before the end of the German presidency in June, or, in any event, before the need of the year (see EUROPE 9422). Discussions proved “difficult” and marked time for several different reasons, Mr Steinmeier told press. “The structure of the GCC differs from that of the EU. It has no integrated policies, so that each stage of the negotiations has to be approved by all the governments (of the Gulf States), which makes negotiations more difficult,” he said. “We are in the final countdown,” said Abdul Rahman Al-Attiyah, GCC Secretary-General, who felt that “the June meeting will very probably be the one which will conclude discussions”. According to local press, instructions were given to the negotiators to reach agreement by mid-June.
Both sides say that there are no fundamental differences between the two camps. The EU, however, remains concerned about the “balance of concessions” and hopes to obtain a guarantee that it will not be discriminated against, compared with other economic powers. Speaking to press, Mr Steinmeier was at pains to reassure the Gulf States, stating that the EU would ensure that the balance of concessions would be equivalent to one obtained by GCC states in their trade relations with the United States and Asia. In return, the EU wants to ensure that the same benefits would be provided to European countries as exist between the GCC and its foreign partners, that, whenever a new free trade agreement, offering better conditions, is signed, the EU also benefits from those conditions. According to comments made on the sidelines of the meeting, the EU is hoping to benefit from the boom in the region, due to the continuing high prices of oil and gas, and notes that the free trade agreements which the Gulf States are signing, with China in particular, threaten to erode the potential benefits of its future trade agreement. The volume of trade between GCC countries in 2006 was worth US $110 billion, with the EU share being of the order of €47.4 billion (US $64.4) in sales, making this region the EU's fifth largest customer. GCC countries exports to the EU amounted to €35.2 billion (US $47.9 billion), largely in the form of crude oil, petrochemical product and aluminium sales.
In the course of their discussions, ministers also held an exchange of views on the current Middle East political situation, particularly the Middle East peace process, Iran and Iraq, recalling their positions set out over the last few weeks. The most salient point was civil nuclear energy. The GCC countries have already indicated their desire to develop a civil nuclear sector, probably as a reaction to the Iranian position, which is of great worry to them. According to local press, Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad Al-Sabah said that a special meeting of Gulf nations would be held in the coming weeks to draw up a roadmap for a civil nuclear programme.
The Riyadh meeting also allowed stock to be taken of the cooperation which the EU and the GCC intend to develop between their countries under the 1988 agreement, in education (Erasmus), culture, the environment (including climate change), and research and development. It was agreed to reinforce cooperation in the field of energy, taking account of the recommendations and proposals made by the energy expert group on 27 April 2007. (fb)