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Trade and Economic Security

Open Public Consultation on the Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) in support of FTA negotiations between the EU and the GCC countries

  • Consultation
  • Open

Details

Status
Open
Opening date
Deadline
Department
Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security
Country or region
  • Gulf region
Trade topics
  • Trade policy

Target audience

All interested stakeholders. 

You may submit your input by replying to the questionnaire:

  • EU Survey (questionnaire) addressed to business stakeholders and other interested parties.  

Why we are consulting

The European Commission has been authorised by the Council to negotiate trade agreements with the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC): Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates).  Future cooperation with the GCC countries could take the form of either a regional Free Trade Agreement (FTA), bilateral FTAs and bilateral Strategic Partnership Agreements (SPAs) with each GCC state that can encompass trade, investment, and related regulatory cooperation. A bilateral free trade agreement negotiation with the United Arab Emirates is underway. These efforts are supported by a Sustainability Impact Assessment, to analyse the potential economic, social, human rights, and environmental impacts of EU trade agreements under negotiation.

To this end, all interested citizens, organisations, and public authorities, irrespective of their geographic location, are invited to participate in this survey. Business associations and representative organisations are also encouraged to provide broader sectoral and stakeholder perspectives through this Open Public Consultation, while individual businesses, including micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) may additionally contribute through the targeted business survey.

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