EU Agrees to Start Talks With Gulf Nations on Strategic Ties

European Union member states approved the launch of negotiations with six Gulf countries as the bloc seeks to broaden its international partnerships amid tariff threats from President Donald Trump.

European affairs ministers gave the green light to the opening of talks aimed at concluding bilateral Strategic Partnership Agreements with Gulf Cooperation Council countries, which include Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, during a meeting in Brussels on Friday, according to people familiar with the discussions, who spoke on the condition on anonymity.