Public Diplomacy and Outreach Devoted to the European Union and the EU-GCC Relations
 

 1) Contextualization

Institutional relations between the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and the European Union (EU) have now existed for nearly two decades. However, despite the extensive network of strong bilateral ties, interregional understanding and consequently cooperation it still limited. Indeed, GCC-EU relations should be much further expanded as the two regions share historical links, geographic proximity, mutual dependence and strategic importance.

The activities of the Al-Jisr project cover the following work packages:

Work Package 1: A series of training workshops to be held in GCC member countries to raise awareness among GCC states, diplomats, academics and opinion makers.

Work Package 2: A series of workshops to be held in Europe and GCC countries devoted to the large concept of “Considering the Scope for Expanding EU-GCC Co-operation: Suggestions for Taking the Relationship Forward.”

Work Package 3: The translation of key introductory textbooks on the European Union into Arabic.

Work Package 4: A research project on the challenge and potential of economic growth and diversification in the GCC, including an analysis of how the benefits of the expected Free Trade Agreement (FTA) can best be reaped

Work Package 5: Creation of a website to ensure that the knowledge gathered, analyzed and archived in this project is widely circulated.