Trade and connectivity in the Europe-Gulf strategic partnership

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the EU’s sixth-largest trading partner, while the EU ranks as the GCC’s second-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade in goods reached €165.7 billion in 2025, with €110.3 billion in EU exports and €55.4 billion in imports. The United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia account for over three-quarters of EU–GCC trade, making them the EU’s principal economic partners in the region. Trade in services totaled €84.4 billion in 2024, having more than doubled over the past decade.

The 2026 US-Israeli war with Iran exposed the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea, transforming Gulf-Europe connectivity from a commercial priority into a strategic instrument of resilience and security. Global oil demand has reached 105 million barrels per day, and the Gulf’s “bypass infrastructure” was built for a much smaller market, leaving limited capacity to mitigate a prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz. For the EU, which consumes 10.6 million barrels of oil per day and imports 97 percent of its crude, secure access to Gulf energy supplies and maritime routes remains a strategic imperative.

Despite renewed political momentum, flagship initiatives to build more resilient connectivity such as the EU-GCC Free Trade Agreement and India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) have yet to move beyond political declarations. While Gulf investment and infrastructure development often outpace Europe’s decision-making and regulatory processes, the priority should be to turn crisis-driven innovations, alternative transport corridors, bypass infrastructure, and regional supply-chain coordination, into permanent, well-financed institutional frameworks.

Valbona Zeneli, PhD, is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center and Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security, specializing in transatlantic relations, economic security, and geopolitics.

Issue Brief Sep 29, 2026

How Europe and the Gulf can unite behind an energy-transition agenda

By Ariel Ezrahi

European and Gulf states share a strong interest in restoring the free flow of energy cut off by the Iran war, and in reducing their economies’ exposure to chokepoints like the Strait of Hormuz. What’s their best path forward?

Energy Transitions Europe

Issue Brief Sep 29, 2026

Three principles to guide European-Gulf defense cooperation

By Jean-Loup Samaan

How can Europe and Gulf cooperate more effectively on defense?

Defense Industry Europe

Issue Brief Sep 29, 2026

The strategic rationale for closer investment ties between Europe and the Gulf

By Jeffrey Lightfoot

Europe and the Gulf both stand to benefit from investing more in each region. Which projects make the most sense?

Economy & Business Europe

The Europe Gulf Forum 

Launched in September 2025, the Europe Gulf Forum is a platform bringing together the highest level of political and business leadership in Europe and the Gulf to advance greater strategic and economic engagement between the two regions.