Relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and the European Union (EU) are witnessing remarkable development at all levels and in various fields, especially in recent years.
GCC-EU relations are based on bilateral cooperation and mutual interests. In terms of joint cooperation between the GCC and the EU, many agreements have been signed to strengthen and develop relations to broader horizons.
The history of relations between the GCC countries and the EU dates back several decades. In December 1987, during the 8th session of the GCC Supreme Council held in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, the GCC agreed to initiate formal negotiations with the EU to reach an initial Cooperation Agreement, following recommendations of the Ministerial Council, which led to the signing of the EU-GCC Cooperation Agreement on June 15, 1988, in Luxembourg.
The Cooperation Agreement was approved by the GCC Supreme Council in December 1988 during its 9th session in the Bahraini capital, Manama, to enter into force at
the beginning of 1990.
The agreement aimed to enhance stability in a region of strategic importance, facilitate political and economic relations, expand economic and technical cooperation, and increase cooperation in the fields of energy, industry, trade, services, agriculture, fisheries, investment, science, technology, environment, and other fields.
The EU-GCC Cooperation Agreement stipulated the formation of a joint council comprising the Foreign Ministers of both sides, which would hold annual periodical meetings, in addition to meetings of the regional directors of the EU and the GCC and joint cooperation committees at the level of senior officials. This would enable the development of closer cooperation between the two sides on various issues and files, in addition to the regular political consultations, as well as technical meetings that bring together experts and specialists from both sides in various fields.
In March 1990, the Joint Ministerial Council, which included the Foreign Ministers of both
sides, held its first meeting in the Omani capital, Muscat.
In May 1991, the Joint Ministerial Council, at its second meeting in Luxembourg, decided to form three working teams for cooperation in the fields of industry, environment, and energy.
In the economic field, the agreement stipulated that the two sides hold economic dialogue periodically, which brings together experts and specialists from both sides to discuss topics of common interest, in addition to holding periodic meetings between the governors of monetary institutions and central banks in the GCC countries and their EU counterparts.
Within the framework of activating the Cooperation Agreement in the field of economic cooperation, several meetings were held between experts and senior officials from both sides, in addition to numerous joint activities that were completed in the fields of financial, economic, and monetary cooperation, trade, industry, investment, energy, nuclear safety, electricity, water, transportation, environment, combating m
oney laundering and terrorist financing, patents, intellectual property protection, higher education, scientific research, and others.
The EU-GCC Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) held meetings during which they discussed ways of developing bilateral relations, as well as the progress of work in areas of cooperation within the Cooperation Agreement, including existing activities such as trade relations and trade facilitation.
Article 11 of the EU-GCC Cooperation Agreement is to promote the development and diversification of the reciprocal commercial exchanges between the Contracting Parties to the highest possible level; the Contracting Parties will enter into discussions concerning the negotiation of an agreement aimed at the expansion of trade in accordance with the provisions of the Joint Declaration annexed hereto.
After the signing of the Cooperation Agreement, trade negotiations took a course independent of other cooperation issues.
The political decision was taken by the GCC that these negotiations
aimed to reach a free trade agreement between the two parties. However, these negotiations did not proceed in a regular manner, as they were initially faced with obstacles that prevented progress during that period. After the establishment of the Customs Union and the unification of tariffs for the GCC countries, negotiations were intensified, and several rounds were held during which many issues were finalized, while some points still required further discussion.
Given the lack of progress in the free trade negotiations and the European sides adherence to its previous positions on the outstanding points, the GCC suspended negotiations in December 2008, while agreeing to the European request to continue consultations between the two sides until a common ground could be established to resume the negotiations.
Although the free trade negotiations between the two sides have stopped, the economic dialogue has continued between them since it was first held in 2003, within the framework of the two parties commitm
ent to strengthening their cooperation and discussing regional and international developments, especially addressing economic challenges and finding solutions to overcome them.
Last September, the State of Qatar hosted the 13th EU-GCC Economic Dialogue, which discussed the most prominent economic challenges, policy priorities, and regional and international risks related to security and stability, in addition to reviewing working papers on economic diversification policies and ways to boost trade and investment and sustainable green transformation.
The GCC and the EU seek to promote and develop their relations in various fields according to mutual and common interests, in light of the complex economic challenges that generally affect global growth.
In turn, Executive Manager of the Gulf Research Center Foundation in Brussels Christian Koch, emphasized the importance of the First GCC-EU Summit for Their Majesties and Highnesses, Leaders of the GCC Countries and Heads of the Member States of the EU, which wi
ll be held in Brussels on Wednesday, noting that the two sides have had an official relationship since the Cooperation Agreement was signed in 1988. Koch said that this Summit comes at a very important time, given all the regional developments, stressing that both the EU and the GCC are determined to deepen their partnership. He pointed out that deepening the partnership between the two sides has been an ongoing process for past couple of years, adding, “we see increased contacts taking place between the two sides, where there are increased institutional mechanisms [and] increased discussions about what’s happening in the region.” He emphasized the depth of the relations between the EU and the GCC, adding that these relations encompass many areas, naturally covering politics and security, and the economy has always been at the core of this relationship as well. Energy has become a more significant component, but there are other aspects that should also be included, such as climate change, humanitarian develop
ment, as well as education and culture, he said. ”I think both sides are very much looking forward to raising this relationship to another level, to have the first ever heads of state meeting here in Brussels, and to see where one can cooperate more closely, given the many challenges that both sides face,” he explained Regarding recent developments in the Middle East, he said, ”we see the security situation in the region deteriorate. We see lots of concerns from both Europeans as well as from the GCC sides about the stability of the region, about what are the contingencies, what are the prognosis of what’s going to happen. And I think there’s a lot of concern.” He added that it is extremely important to hold this summit, where heads of states can come together and actively exchange views on the current priorities in the region, what needs to be done to halt the decline into further violence and instability, and what can one do together to inject new diplomatic perspectives and new political solutions to t
he pressing issues before we all start suffering more from the deterioration of events. He believed that the regional security issues will be at the forefront, pointing out, ”if we don’t have stability in the region, how can we expect to have economic development? How can we expect to have institutional reform? How can we expect to have good livelihoods for the people of the region? So we need to focus on the security aspect first.” He pointed out that the EU and the GCC can do quite a lot together because they have different tools they bring to the table, as well as ideas of how to calm down tensions in the region and deescalate to give opportunities for greater economic progress and stability overall and a forward vision for the region. On the economic side, Koch said that trade and investment have always been an extremely important component of the EU- GCC relationship, adding that both sides also recognize the importance of addressing issues such as climate change and green technology, and they want to
develop their partnership on this front so that they can mitigate the impacts of climate change. He said that the Gulf region is facing increasingly hot weather, and we see storms and other weather phenomena occurring unprecedentedly in Europe, explaining that this again highlights the importance of placing climate issues at the forefront. He added that green technology, renewable energy, and the overall energy transition are high-priority topics on the agendas of both the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, noting “we are seeing increased interaction on both sides. We see a new partnership being developed on the green transition.” On the role of cultural and educational exchange in strengthening GCC-EU ties, he said that cultural and educational exchanges are the essence, adding that the communication between people and networks is what forms the foundation for a sustainable and long-lasting relationship, stressing, ”we need to foster these kinds of exchanges at all levels all the time.” “I th
ink one of the big messages that can come out of the summit will be the complete visa facilitation for GCC citizens to the EU,” he said. Koch concluded his statement by saying, “we need real steps being taken in order to see the relationship advance. EU and GCC have had a relationship now officially for more than 35 years, since the 1988 EU-GCC Corporation Agreement. “We’ve seen hopes that there will be more strategic relations coming about. Sometimes these hopes have not been fulfilled and expectations have not been met. I think given the urgency of the issues in the region right now, especially on the regional security front, we need to have specific steps being implemented and we need to have clear action plans and a clear signal from the leadership about where they want to take this relationship. “I think the two sides can do a lot together, but again, they cannot wait around because the world is changing fast. There are a lot of issues to be confronted and the need for action is right now.”
Source: Qa
tar News Agency