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Europe and the reshaped global order / Working Paper

Impasse in Euro-Gulf relations

28/04/2009 By Richard Youngs

M.Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

The Gulf has long been a neglected area of EU foreign policy. Problems surfaced at the end of 2008 when trade negotiations between the EU and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) collapsed.

The EU has been unable to resolve the tensions between its economic and political strategies in the Gulf. The EU’s approach to economic questions has weakened its geopolitical presence; its approach to security issues dilutes efforts to promote the governance reforms needed for longer-term European strategic and economic interests. The Gulf is a region where the relative decline in European presence and influence is painfully apparent .

 

This Working Paper is supported by the European Commission under the Al-Jisr project.

 

 

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Keywords

Civil society Democracy promotion Energy Security EU Foreign Policy European Union Middle East

Related publications

• Europe and the Gulf: strategic neglect
• Political change in the Gulf States: beyond Cosmetic Reform?
• Political reform and the prospects for democratic transition in the gulf
• The European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council

Bio author: Richard Youngs

Democracy promotion. EU foreign policy.