Saudi Crown Prince in Brussels for first EU-Gulf summit October 16, 2024

The EU confirmed Mohammed bin Salman’s attendance late Tuesday, on the eve of the first-ever EU-Gulf Cooperation Council Summit. | Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Saudi Crown Prince in Brussels for first EU-Gulf summit

by Umberto BACCHI

Gulf leaders, including Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, met with European Union heads of state and government in Brussels on Wednesday for a summit aimed at avoiding a “general conflagration” in the Middle East.

The European Union, made up of 27 countries, is seeking to work more closely with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) - which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates - to deal with the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine.

Confirmed at the last minute, the presence of the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia among the six Gulf leaders present raised expectations.

The first meeting of its kind, the EU-GCC summit, takes place on the eve of a meeting of EU leaders in the Belgian capital.

The heads of state and government began arriving in the early afternoon, following a dinner on Tuesday evening for foreign ministers.

Trade, energy, and climate change will be on the agenda at the talks in Brussels, but EU officials emphasized that the “main issue” would be Israel's conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.

“We are partners with aligned interests,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo told journalists on arrival at the talks, adding that he hoped the discussions would help promote a ceasefire and de-escalation in the Middle East.

Peace will usually come when sensible people sit down at the table, and we know that many of the Gulf countries have facilitated this, and I hope that we will continue to join forces”.

According to an EU official, “the Saudis seem to be re-engaging on the Lebanon issue, which is vital to resolving the situation.”

- The same concerns

The EU is the GCC countries' second largest trading partner, but talks on a trade pact have been stalled for years.

Differences also remain over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and, in particular, the implementation of Western sanctions and EU pressure to punish Iran for supporting Moscow's war effort.

“We are much more in agreement on the Middle East,” said a senior EU official.

“One of the objectives is to avoid a general conflagration” in the region, added another official. “Both sides are concerned about that.”

The Brussels summit comes just over a year after the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, an ally of Iran, expanded in recent weeks to include Lebanon - raising fears of a major regional conflict.

“We are ready to act ever more closely together to tackle common challenges,” EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell said of the EU and GCC countries ahead of the talks.

The EU has called for a ceasefire in Lebanon and Gaza.

Traditionally allied with the West, the resource-rich Gulf monarchies have moved closer to Iran, which supports Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

They have repeatedly called for the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, and some have played a key role in efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hezbollah has been exchanging cross-border fire with Israel for almost a year, saying it is acting in response to Israel's devastating ground and air assault on Gaza.

The war in Gaza began after the armed arm of the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a surprise attack from the territory against Israel on October 7, 2023.

The almost daily exchange of fire on the border between Israel and Lebanon has led to the displacement of tens of thousands of people on both sides, even before last month's escalation - with at least 690,000 people currently displaced.

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is also attending the EU-GCC meeting, jointly chaired by the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the GCC.

Human Rights Watch, for its part, called on EU leaders to press their Gulf counterparts for reforms - including the detention of political prisoners, freedom of expression, labor rights, and women's rights.

“EU leaders should make clear that the release of critics and progress on human rights is vital to bilateral relations,” said Claudio Francavilla, associate EU director at Human Rights Watch.

The published agenda for the negotiations makes no mention of human rights.

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