First EU-Gulf Cooperation Council summit, 16 October 2024

The first summit between the leaders of EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will take place in Brussels on 16 October.
The summit will be co-chaired by the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the Emir of Qatar, H.H. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as the rotating President of the GCC.

The summit is an opportunity for the EU to develop a closer partnership with the GCC 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 geostrategic partners at a time of challenging geopolitical circumstances.

The main topics for discussion are how to further cooperation on:

common key global challenges
economic cooperation, including trade and investment
energy
sustainability and climate
connectivity
people-to-people contacts
EU-GCC summit logo
EU-GCC relations
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.

The cooperation agreement also established an EU-GCC Joint Council at foreign minister 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 2022-2027, which was updated in October 2023.

The programme outlines specific joint activities and deepened cooperation across numerous sectors:

trade and investment
climate change
green transition
people-to-people initiatives
counter-terrorism
Co-chairs’ statement of the 27th GCC-EU Joint Council and ministerial meeting (press release, 10 October 2023)
In May 2022, the European Commission and the High Representative issued a joint communication on a “Strategic partnership with the Gulf”, which was endorsed by the Council in June 2022. This communication sets out an operational roadmap for the EU to develop closer ties with the GCC member states.

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-ever EU Special Representative for the Gulf. He is responsible for further developing a stronger, comprehensive and more strategic EU partnership with the countries in the Gulf region.