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EU courts Gulf countries for free trade deal as Brussels seeks to counter tariffs

The EU's special envoy to the Gulf told Euronews it's high time to get a deal done as Brussels looks to bolster business ties with wealthy Arab nations. Free trade talks have stalled for two decades over political disagreements and conditions for market access.

READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2026/02/07/eu-courts-gulf-countries-for-free-trade-deal-as-brussels-seeks-to-counter-tariffs

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Transcript
00:00This is the time for new pragmatic trade deals.
00:03That was the message from a European delegation here in Dubai
00:06at a conference led by the United Arab Emirates.
00:10This is a European Union that wants to make and cut deals with the world
00:14the way we've seen with Latin America and the Mercosur,
00:18but also very recently India.
00:20It's also a way to cushion the impact from the tariffs put forward
00:25by President Trump and China's growing trade surplus with the world.
00:29Today, speaking to Euronews, the Latvian Prime Minister told us,
00:34quote, we are a very attractive market of 500 million people.
00:38Who wouldn't want to make a deal with us?
00:40But we also need to reach out to the world.
00:42And that means the Gulf through the GCC, the Gulf Cooperation Council,
00:47which includes the United Arab Emirates, but also Saudi Arabia and Qatar, among others.
00:52The EU's envoy for the region also told us the institutional framework is now laid out,
00:57but this is really now about political talks.
01:01This deal has been stuck for 20 years over sticking points that go for market access,
01:06but also political questions.
01:08The GCC insists they see this as a trade deal, a way to do business.
01:13It's not about the politics or values.
01:15The European Union, on the other hand,
01:17they say they will always push for the best climate regulation,
01:21social protections and workers' rights.
01:23But this is also a European Union that is willing now to be
01:27and get more pragmatic in the interest of a deal.
01:31Maria Tadeo in Dubai for Euronews.
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