MKI Perspective – Written by Gábor Papp
The first summit between the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries occurred under the Hungarian Presidency. As its EU Presidency programme reveals the Hungarian Presidency aims to further deepen cooperation between the Gulf countries and the European Union. There are serious energy security reasons behind this, in addition to the region’s stability. For the EU, it is important to replace fossil fuels as quickly and cost-effectively as possible – and there are serious political and environmental reasons for this also. This puts the Gulf countries in an increasingly prominent position, but at the same time, there are many aspects of cooperation that the EU needs to consider for the future.