EU chief hails new era of closer ties with Gulf states
The EU yesterday set out a new strategy for its future relationship with Gulf Co-operation Council states that covers matters from global security and trade to the green transition and digitalisation.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell unveiled the plan yesterday and said both parties would gain significantly from closer ties.
“At a time of insecurity and significant challenges to the rules-based international order … the European Union and Gulf countries stand to gain from a stronger and more strategic partnership,” he said.
In a joint communication to the European Parliament and the GCC, Mr Borrell said the strategic partnership would build on ties between individual states in Europe and the Gulf that were already strong.
“We need to work more closely together on stability in the Gulf and the Middle East, on global security threats, energy security, climate change and the green transition, digitalisation, trade and investment,” he said.
Under the plan, the EU wants to co-operate more closely with Gulf states in a wide range of areas, from counter-terrorism, conflict mediation and cyber security, to tackling the Covid-19 pandemic and climate change.
The six member countries of the GCC – the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar – also represent a major trading partner for Europe. The 27-member EU bloc is the GCC’s third-largest trade partner after China and India.
Taken together, the EU and GCC already make up 20 per cent of the global economy.
As part of the latest strategy to boost trade between the two blocs, the EU has signalled that it is interested in helping the Gulf states diversify their economies.
A partnership on climate change was also outlined as a priority of the plan.
The net-zero pledges made by several Gulf states including the UAE in recent months have been singled out as being of paramount important if the world is to meet the targets outlined in the Paris Agreement, which seek to limit global warming to 2°C above pre-industrial levels.