1st EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit kicks off in Brussels

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - The first EU-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit, focusing on various global challenges, began in Brussels on Wednesday.

The summit, co-chaired by European Council President Charles Michel and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as the GCC’s rotating president, is expected to focus on various issues, including common key global challenges, economic cooperation, including trade and investment, energy, as well as sustainability, and climate.

In his opening remarks, Michel expressed his hope that this would be the first of many meetings between the regions at the leaders level.

"The EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council, we are ready to build a strategic partnership fit for the 21st century and we are ready to work together to tackle global challenges," he noted.

Michel said they want more stability, security, prosperity, and respect for international law.

Touching on global stability, which is "once again under threat," he pointed out the need to do more to promote stability, progress, and solidarity in the EU and Gulf regions and across the world.

- Attacks against UNIFIL 'flagrant violation of int'l law'

The Qatari emir, for his part, highlighted global security and political challenges and conflicts, emphasizing the importance of strengthening the GCC-EU relationship.

"We hope that this (summit) would contribute to promoting the principles of justice and international legitimacy, far from any double standards which undermine collective security upon which the whole international community has agreed as the basis for peace and security in the world," he added.

There is a need to find a solution to the Palestine issue based on international legitimacy and the 1967 borders, the Qatari emir stressed, adding, "And we need to establish a sovereign and independent Palestinian state side by side with the Israeli state."

He called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as for Israel to withdraw its forces from the West Bank.

The emir condemned attacks on civilians and UN peacekeepers in Lebanon, calling them "flagrant violations of international law."

"Security and prosperity of the European Union at the Gulf Cooperation Council have become indispensable for each other," European Commission President von der Leyen said in her opening remarks.

She noted that it is not possible to achieve their economic ambitions without security.

Von der Leyen pointed out the escalation in the Middle East and reiterated the need for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon.

"We need protection of innocent civilians, humanitarian access and the release of all hostages, only diplomacy can generate a sustainable pathway for security," she said.

She added: "The European Union is committed to peacebuilding rooted in a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine."

According to the EU, the summit is an opportunity for the bloc to develop a closer partnership with the GCC and its member states – the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.

EU-GCC relations are based on a cooperation agreement signed in 1989, which establishes regular dialogue on cooperation between the EU and GCC on economic relations, climate change, energy, the environment, and research.