Following the meeting between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier was optimistic that the free trade agreement between the EU and the GCC could be concluded quickly. Another important issue discussed at the talks was the Middle East peace process.
The 17th Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting of the EU and GCC took place in Riyadh on 8 May. This annual gathering has its origins in the 1988 Cooperation Agreement concluded between the EU and the GCC.
Numerous foreign affairs ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council and EU Member States attended the meeting. The EU delegation was headed by Federal Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the EU Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, and EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson.
The main objective of the meeting was to move forward with negotiations so that a free trade agreement between the EU and the GCC could be concluded quickly. Emerging from the talks, Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier was optimistic: “My impression is that we have entered the final straight.” He explained that it was a goal of the German Council Presidency to bring negotiations to a conclusion so that the agreement could be signed. Negotiations on the free trade agreement, which sets out to expand economic relations between the Gulf region and the European Union, have been ongoing for almost 17 years. Federal Foreign Minister Steinmeier expressed the hope that “the free trade agreement will also clear the way for more intensive political relations”.
The meeting was also an opportunity for the foreign ministers to engage in dialogue on topical issues of regional and international policy, and in particular the Middle East peace process.
The GCC, whose members are Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman, was established in 1981. Saudi Arabia, which currently holds the GCC Presidency, hosted this year’s Joint Council and Ministerial Meeting. The GCC encompasses an area of some 2.7 million square kilometres with 32 million inhabitants and a GDP of $342 billion (a per capita income of $11,500). In 2005, the GCC States accounted for around 61% of the oil produced in the entire Middle East and North Africa region.
