There are photographs that go down in history and, many times, because of their negative connotations. This is the case of EU leaders, who “warmly” welcomed representatives of the Gulf countries in Brussels on Wednesday, including the Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohamed bin Salman, whom the international community accuses of having sponsored the assassination of the journalist. Jamal Kashoggi at that country’s consulate in Türkiye in 2018.
The UN concluded that there was “credible evidence” that Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and other senior officials were responsible for the execution and demanded an investigation into the killing. “The Special Rapporteur’s conclusion is that Mr. Khashoggi was the victim of a deliberate and premeditated extrajudicial execution for which the State of Saudi Arabia is responsible under international human rights law,” the 100 report said. pages prepared by Agnès Callamard. UN Special Rapporteur. The CIA also directly singled him out for his “support for violent measures aimed at silencing dissidents abroad, including Khashoggi.”
Despite this accusation, the EU decided to clear Mohamed bin Salman, whom the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission, Charles Michel and Ursula von der Leyen, received in Brussels before the meeting where the majority of the leaders of the 27, including Pedro Sánchez, during the first summit with the Gulf Council (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman). The community club had avoided confirming the names of participants from these countries before the event, hiding behind security reasons.
The intention of Michel, who was the promoter of the summit, is for the EU to have a “more strategic” relationship with these countries in a complicated geopolitical moment where the community club wants to bring them closer to its position regarding Ukraine opposite to the good relations that some of them have with Vladimir Putin. Community sources also underline the “role” that these countries play in the conflict in the Middle East, in particular Qatar, which is one of the mediators. Indeed, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, held a few weeks ago in New York, during which the EU, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Arab countries launched the Alliance global for the implementation of the two States.
But the real reason why the EU is now deciding to pursue closer relations with the Gulf countries has to do with trade, in an attempt to push forward deals that have been resisted for decades. Hence the tribute to the prince of Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil producer at a time when the old continent has disengaged from Russia. Gulf states are also demanding a visa waiver, which the EU has already agreed with the United Arab Emirates.
Community sources admit differences on issues such as Ukraine. The intention, however, is to reach agreement on a joint declaration after the nomination. Sources close to the negotiations of this text explained that the EU had requested to include a reference to the promotion and protection of human rights in the framework of the strategic partnership and that dialogues take place on this issue in the framework of the partnership.
