EU-GCC Relations and Security Issues: Broadening the Horizon

Abstract

This edited volume is the product workshop 11, 'European Union - Gulf Cooperation Council Relations and Security Issues: Broadening the Horizon', of the 8th Mediterranean Research Meeting of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, 21-25 March 2007.

The relationship between the member states of the European Union (EU) and those of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is multifaceted and has over the years taken on a number of different dimensions. With security issues such as those related to terrorism, the US-led invasion of Iraq and its aftermath, and concern over a potential Iranian nuclear program coming to the forefront, ties between the EU and the GCC have taken on a security component that up to this stage remains largely undefined and understudied. The collection of papers included in this volume highlight many of the different salient issues playing a role on the security front and put forward perspectives under which this new dimension in relations can be better understood. This includes an attempt to move from the currently still vague and largely theoretical notions of GCC-EU security cooperation into more policy applicable and relevant approaches that build on past European experiences. EU GCC Relations and Security Issues extends empirical insight into various aspects of the European approach to the region from a security-based perspective, provides a comparative context into which it becomes possible to frame a more solid base for understanding European policy in the region, and through the use of case examples illustrates how the present cooperation can be expanded and improved upon.