Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The first summit between the leaders of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries will kick off this afternoon in Brussels. According to the European Union institutions, the summit will be co-chaired by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Emir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in his capacity as the rotating president of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
According to official European sources, the summit represents an opportunity for the European Union to develop a closer partnership with the Gulf Cooperation Council and its member states (the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar and the State of Kuwait), who are geopolitical partners at a time of difficult geopolitical circumstances.
The main topics of discussion are how to strengthen cooperation in:
Major shared global challenges
Economic cooperation, including trade and investment
Energy
Sustainability and climate
Communication
People-to-people contacts
The relations between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council are based on a cooperation agreement signed in 1989, which establishes a regular dialogue on cooperation between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council in economic relations, climate change, energy, environment and research.
The Cooperation Agreement also established a Joint EU-GCC Council at Foreign Ministers’ level, which meets regularly. During the Joint Council held in Brussels in February 2022, EU and GCC Foreign Ministers endorsed a Joint Cooperation Programme for the period 2022-2027, which was updated in October 2023.
The Programme sets out specific joint activities and deeper cooperation across several sectors:
Trade and investment
Climate change
Green transition
People-to-people initiatives
Counter-terrorism
In May 2022, the European Commission and the High Representative issued a Joint Statement on the “Strategic Partnership with the Gulf”, which was endorsed by the Council in June 2022. This Statement sets out an operational roadmap for the EU to develop closer relations with the GCC countries.
The Council approves conclusions on a strategic partnership with the Gulf (Press release, 20 June 2022)
In June 2022, Luigi Di Maio was appointed as the first EU Special Representative for the Gulf. He is responsible for developing a stronger, more comprehensive and strategic EU partnership with the Gulf countries.

Trade
The EU is the GCC’s second largest trading partner, with trade volumes of €170 billion in 2023
In 2023, imports of mineral fuels accounted for over 75% of EU imports from the GCC.
Since 2020, fuel imports have more than tripled – due to a sharp shift in EU supply sources, driven by Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.