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This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the various dimensions of the relationship between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, and highlights how relations are yet to reach their full potential. Despite both parties sharing a number of common interests, including trade, energy, climate change, security and cultural cooperation, the multilateral cooperation framework remains limited, with most engagement taking place bilaterally, between individual European and GCC countries. The book reassesses the potential and prospects for the EU’s engagement with GCC countries based on the recalibration and reconciliation of both parties’ national and regional interests. Taking a thematic approach, each of the three sections of the book examines a key dimension of the relationship, its current status and its path forward.
Historically, the international relations of the European Union (EU) have been guided by the interests of its member countries and by the heritage that each of them has chosen to promote, or pass on to the Union. The colonial legacy plays a crucial role in determining and developing the foreign policy of the Union. The authors approach the relationships between the GCC and EU through analyzing the prevalent operational mechanisms in each of the two regional organizations. The great differences between them hinder the improvement of their collective relations. This renders it imperative upon all the parties concerned to clarify the reasons to facilitate further development. This research paper, however, provides in-depth analysis for the adopted mechanisms and policies by each of the two blocs and highlights the political and institutional priorities for such differences as well as it presents a workable perspective for bilateral cooperation.
This book provides a comprehensive assessment of the various dimensions of the relationship between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council, and highlights how relations are yet to reach their full potential. Despite both parties sharing a number of common interests, including trade, energy, climate change, security and cultural cooperation, the multilateral cooperation framework remains limited, with most engagement taking place bilaterally, between individual European and GCC countries. The book reassesses the potential and prospects for the EU's engagement with GCC countries based on the recalibration and reconciliation of both parties' national and regional interests. Taking a thematic approach, each of the three sections of the book examines a key dimension of the relationship, its current status and its path forward. Dr Adel Abdel Ghafar is a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings and at the Brookings Doha Center, where he was previously Director of Research. He specializes in political economy and his research interests include state-society relations, socio-economic development and foreign policy in the MENA region. Dr Silvia Colombo is Senior Fellow in the Mediterranean and Middle East and Italy's Foreign Policy programs at the Rome-based Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI). She is an expert on Middle Eastern politics and in this capacity she is working on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation, EU-GCC relations, political and security developments in the MENA, conflict management and democratization, and gender and youth inclusion. .
Relations between the European Union (EU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are at a crossroads. After the derailment of the negotiations for the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in 2008, the cooperation between the two regional blocs has remained low-key in a number of different areas, while the unprecedented changes that have taken place in North Africa and the Middle East, the common neighbourhood of the EU and the GCC, have not led to a renewed, structured cooperation on foreign and security policy issues. This volume addresses the shortcomings and potential of EU-GCC relations by taking stock of their past evolution and by advancing policy recommendations as to how to revamp this strategic cooperation. In this light, it highlights the areas where greater room for manoeuvre exists in order to enhance EU-GCC relations, discusses the instruments available and sheds light on the features of the regional and international context that are likely to significantly influence the new phase in the mutual relation between the two blocs. The book is the result of the research conducted in the framework of the project ‘Sharaka – Enhancing Understanding and Cooperation in EU-GCC Relations’ co-funded by the European Commission.
France has had a long-standing and historically significant relationship with the Arab World. This relationship is bolstered by the growing volume of bilateral trade between France and the GCC states. From the French perspective, the Gulf states are major partners and interlocutors, hence political dialogue remains intense at all levels. Interpersonal relations remain positive, being rooted in friendship and confidence. Furthermore, France and the Gulf states hold convergent positions on almost all regional issues. There are growing commercial flows between the GCC states and France, which mainly imports oil and gas from these states. However, a more stable partnership can be established through investment. To encourage this, a legal framework is imperative to ensure the security of assets and fair returns on investments. French security commitments manifest themselves in three ways: through support in the fight against terrorism, contributions to the defense capacities of the GCC countries and a willingness to participate in a collective system to safeguard Gulf security. Since 1995, France has entered into defense agreements with Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, and carefully monitors their implementation. Every Middle Eastern conflict is approached by France in a different way, based on the international situation and its past relations with the countries involved. Sometimes France opts to work on a bilateral basis (such as in Lebanon and Iraq), and sometimes within a multilateral framework. Nevertheless there are common attitudes and enduring principles that guide French engagement in the Middle East. French military cooperation in the GCC states is most developed with the UAE, followed by Qatar. Defense agreements concluded between France and these two Gulf states commit France to the defense of their sovereignty. In addition, regular high level military exercises and strategic exchanges take place via the joint military committees constituted under these bilateral defense agreements. Defense cooperation with the UAE, boosted to a great extent by the Offset Program, has opened up new avenues for cooperation in other economic and strategic fields. Although bilateral defense cooperation reached its apogee in the 1990s and now faces serious competition from the United States, such cooperation allowed major French industries in sectors such as water, electricity, transportation and communications, as well as health and education to export their expertise and participate in the training of local companies. The GCC has long sought to maintain and expand cooperative ties with the European Union (EU), which largely inspired its own model for regional integration. The political will to enhance EU–GCC cooperation appears to be present on both sides and is based on the recognition of common interests. Reinforced cooperation between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council is an important element in facilitating constructive exchanges on the stabilization of the Middle East, the resolution of crises and a reorientation towards a multi-polar world order. Ultimately, bilateral French–Arab cooperation to defend their respective cultures must be preceded by close cultural relations between the parties and a spirit of equality, generosity and mutual desire.