Euronews spoke to two European Union policymakers who attended Sunday’s Doha Forum: former European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas and current EU Special Representative for the Gulf Region Luigi Di Maio.
The forum aimed to bring a number of issues to the global forefront, including world peace as Russia’s war with Ukraine continues to escalate, approaching its fifth year, and also directly addressed Israel’s violation of the existing ceasefire in Gaza.
Schinas expressed hope that renewed peace efforts in Ukraine led by US President Donald Trump could finally bring an end to the fighting and the war that has killed tens of thousands of Ukrainians and cost European countries billions of euros in aid.
“From day one, we have been providing Ukraine with €2 billion per month in funding. In a sense, Ukraine continues to fight because Europe continues to pay,” Schinas told Euronews.
“We have bought weapons for Ukraine. We have supported Ukraine in very difficult diplomatic moments and we will continue to do so.”
“We hope that as a result of continued consultations and increased involvement from the U.S. government, we will be able to reach an agreement soon, but if that moment ever comes, this will only be the beginning of the next step,” he added.
Schinas also spoke about the inaccuracy of the Trump administration’s criticism of Europe. A controversial US National Security Strategy report released on Friday claimed that Europe is heading towards “the eradication of civilization” as a result of censorship and supranational policies, while the European Union’s immigration policies are allowing immigrants to “replace” Europeans.
In the document, the US government said it would support “like-minded patriotic parties” across Europe to “foster resistance” to prevent “certain NATO member states” (which were not named) from becoming majority non-European, thereby alienating pro-immigration parties.
“I think anyone who doubts the value and appeal of the European project will regret it for the rest of their lives. History tells us otherwise,” Schinas said.
Still, he stressed the importance of the EU-US alliance, saying: “The transatlantic relationship is too precious to risk. So we will explain, we will engage and we will make sure we do the right thing.”
Euronews also asked Messrs Schinas and Di Maio about the bloc’s plans to remain competitive and forge new partnerships to advance its economic prospects and interests. One new partnership that could be interesting for Brussels is with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
“We must continue to work with our historic allies, but I think we are increasingly realizing that we must forge new partnerships,” Di Maio said.
“The GCC and European markets together account for almost 20% of the global economy and almost 18% of global trade. Therefore, we have huge potential,” he added.
Schinas echoed his views, pointing out that in the current turbulent global political climate, it is important for the EU to pursue stability and security, and that GCC countries have proven capable of advancing in this field.
“As the world becomes more and more insane, we need actors who can provide security and stability, not consumption. And I think the countries of the region have shown that they can actively contribute to this. Europe is grateful,” Schinas said.
Di Maio praised the new partnership signed last month between the EU and Qatar to strengthen production and trade ties, adding that this is just the beginning of the relationship, which will deepen over time.
“This is an agreement, but it is not just a memorandum of understanding. It is significant and it relates to the fact that we are building and forming new kinds of partnerships in different fields and in different capacities.”
The EU Special Representative for the GCC added that a promising area for future partnership between the region and the GCC could be in the hydrogen sector.
“I would like to mention hydrogen as perhaps the most promising one. Many countries in the GCC are investing in hydrogen, developing technology, and partnering at the B2B (business-to-business) and G2G (government-to-government) levels,” he said.
“I just returned from Oman for the Hydrogen Summit. Many European ports and European companies do business with Oman. So does Saudi Arabia, and many other countries in the GCC as well.”