Gulf Research Center

The Mediterranean: Opportunities to Develop GCC-EU Relations

Al-Jisr Research Project Workshop in cooperation with the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI)

Rome, Italy

December 10-11, 2009

This workshop within the framework of the Al-Jisr Project on EU-GCC Public Diplomacy and Outreach Activities will explore the following questions: Can the Mediterranean become a field of cooperation between the EU and the GCC countries? If so, in which perspective should Mediterranean EU-GCC cooperation be developed? Should the Mediterranean become a dimension in the EU-GCC political dialogue or should it be a separated framework? Should it be an EU-GCC cooperation in or on the Mediterranean? If it were a dimension of EU-GCC relations, how should it be connected with EU political relations with Arab Mediterranean countries (i.e. belonging to the UFM)? Should the various fields of cooperation move on separated tracks or should there be linkages? What could the political and security rationale of EU-GCC cooperation in/on the Mediterranean be? Is it possible to consider possible issues of cooperation (e.g. the Arab-Israeli conflict; Lebanon; Western Sahara; social and cultural issues linked to migration; counterterrorism; maritime security, etc.)