WRITTEN QUESTION E-1649/01

by Elmar Brok (PPE-DE) and José Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(12 June 2001)

Subject: EU delegation to the Gulf Cooperation Council in Riyadh

The countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council are becoming increasingly important for the European Union in all economic and commercial sectors. The total value of trade was 51,5 billion in 2000, compared to 37 billion in 1999. Up to now the balance of trade has favoured the European Union. The 15 Member States have a considerable interest in ensuring that the six GCC states complete the customs union they hope to set up by March 2005 as quickly as possible, so that the planned EU/GCC free trade area can be carried into effect.

The EU has an interest in the continued stability of the region, to ensure the security of energy supplies to the Member States.

On 23 April 2001 the GCC/EU Joint Ministerial Council met for the eleventh time in Manama, the capital of Bahrain. European delegations, experts, business people and others consistently report, on their return from GCC states, that the latter attach increasing importance to their relations with the EU. They have complained for many years about the fact that the EU has not yet established a delegation at the GCC headquarters in Riyadh. This is frustrating for those concerned, particularly the decision-makers in the GCC states, and this failure to take account of local attitudes is counter-productive in terms of cooperation with the EU.

1. Why, despite the great importance of the Gulf region for the European Union, has no Commission delegation to the GCC states been opened in Riyadh yet?

2. Bearing in mind the commitments which the GCC governments must fulfil in order to complete the customs union, what does the EU regard as the obstacles that need to be removed to enable progress to be made in negotiations concerning the completion of the EU/GCC free trade area?

3. What steps is the Commission taking to ascertain the scope for EU/GCC cooperation in other areas than energy, the economy and trade?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(31 July 2001)

The Commission shares the assessment of the Honourable Member that the Community and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries are important partners, in trade and indeed in other areas. The future Free Trade Agreement further increase the volume of trade and also will provide new possibilities for both parties to diversify their exchanges. In this respect the Commission expects an increase not only in trade in goods but also in services, which has so far remained a relatively closed sector in the GCC countries.

1. A list of priorities for future opening of Delegations and Offices was approved by the Commission in its Communication on the External Service of 1998(1), where a Delegation in Riyadh was foreseen. However the crisis in the Balkans and the need for large and urgent assistance to the region stretched the resources of the External Services to the limit and made it impossible to pursue the development plan set out in the 1998 Communication in which the Commission confirms that the opening of a Delegation in Riyadh to serve the whole Gulf region is foreseen in the course of 2002. The objective has nevertheless remained unchanged. As the Honourable Member will be aware, the Commission adopted on 3 July a new Communication on the development of the External Service.

2. The Commission adopted a proposal for new Negotiating Directives for a Free Trade Area with the GCC just before the Union-GCC Joint Council/Ministerial Meeting in Bahrain, 23 April 2001. Since then, the Directives had been subject to discussions in the Council Working Group for the Middle East/Gulf, and in the Art. 133 Committee. The Commission is doing its utmost to incorporate the views of the Working group in order to arrive at agreed Negotiation Directives in the Council as soon as possible. The rapid adoption of the new Directives has been a high priority for the Presidency and indeed remains so for the Commission. The Commission and the GCC will then be in a position to pursue intensive and focused negotiations with the purpose of concluding them before the entry into force of the GCC Customs Union.

3. Since the Cooperation Agreement was signed in 1989, Community-GCC co-operation has developed in a number of areas, including standards co-operation, energy, customs, environment and investment facilitation. Standards and customs co-operation have been directly linked to the preparation for a Free Trade Area whereas, in the field of environment for example, the Commission is assisting the GCC in drafting protocols for the protection of maritime biodiversity. Later this year, it is planned to organise an environment working group meeting.

On energy, co-operation has resulted the holding of two co-financed conferences; one on Natural Gas, another on Advanced Oil and Gas Technologies. Following recommendations from the Conference on Natural Gas, in late 1999 the Commission and the GCC launched a jointly financed study on prospects for future Union natural gas imports from the GCC. There will be a meeting of the Community-GCC Energy Working Group before the end of the year to discuss future co-operation as well as the petroleum products market situation.

The Joint Council of 23 April in Bahrain decided that an Experts' Meeting on investment with the purpose of discussing possible steps to encourage reciprocal investments should be arranged as soon as a GCC paper reflecting recent developments in investment conditions in the GCC had been finalised.

(1) SEC(98) 1261.