The EU hopes to boost its support for Gulf states by using Ukraine's expertise in fighting against drones and enhancing the bloc's naval missions in the region, the EU's special envoy for the Gulf, Luigi Di Maio, told The National.
A flurry of calls between Brussels and regional powers have taken place as the war escalates, with Israel hitting oil depots near Tehran and intensifying attacks on Lebanon. Meanwhile, Iran has continued to launch strikes on its neighbours, with a drone attack leading to the deaths of two people in a residential building in Riyadh on Sunday.
"This is a terrible situation, where friends matter and friendships matter – and our friendship and our partnership is very instrumental to help our Gulf brothers to defend themselves," Mr Di Maio said.
Leaders and senior officials from the region were on Monday scheduled to hold an emergency online meeting on the war with European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The talks come days after the EU's foreign affairs minister, Kaja Kallas, spoke to Gulf representatives to stress the bloc's solidarity with the region.
Ukrainian expertise
In a joint statement, the EU and Gulf states condemned the Iranian attacks and emphasised the rights of Tehran's neighbours to defend themselves. The statement also called for diplomacy to de-escalate the conflict.
Mr Di Maio described them as "the guidelines of what we can do together". There is an awareness in Europe and the Gulf "that the security of the Gulf is the security of Europe and vice versa", he added.
The EU has welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's offer to share its expertise in intercepting Iranian-made Shahed drones, which have been used by Russia in its four years of war against Kyiv. On Sunday, he announced that Ukrainian experts would arrive in the Middle East this week.
Mr Zelenskyy has previously said Kyiv lacked US-made Pac-2 and Pac-3 missiles. He has proposed to exchange some of those in Gulf states for Ukrainian drone interceptors, which are in high demand to destroy Shaheds.
Ukrainian interceptors cost between $1000 to $2000 to produce, compared to ballistic missiles that can cost millions of dollars. Ukraine itself also faces shortages of these more expensive ballistic missile systems.
"If we are talking about increasing capabilities, we would very much like this to be a beneficial for both sides," Mr Zelenskyy said.
That could mean Gulf states investing in Ukraine's defence industry to help protect their territories, and US bases in the region, from Iranian attacks, said Rafael Loss, policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank.
It could also help cover a shortfall of investment in Ukraine's defence industry. "That's what Kyiv is seeing, what [Ms Kallas] is seeing and what potentially produces a situation of mutual benefit for all involved, including the Americans," Mr Loss said.
The EU can draw on its close friendship with Ukraine to help the Gulf, Mr Di Maio said. "We have to support the capacity of our partners in the region to defend themselves by facilitating their connection with Ukraine," he added. "The know-how of the Ukrainians is unique and, with it, our friends in the Gulf will be even better able to defend themselves."
There is a view in Brussels that Europeans can help kickstart a more intense Gulf-Ukraine conversation. "Ukrainians have the world's best battle-tested drone defences, so we are looking into matchmaking support between Gulf and European and Ukrainian industries," an EU official told The National.
They stressed that it is up to Gulf states to decide whether they are interested in the offer.
Naval options
Another concrete way the EU wants to help the Gulf is through two maritime initiatives in the region. Operation Atalanta protects commercial ships off the Horn of Africa, while Operation Aspides keeps vessels safe from Houthi attacks near the Bab Al Mandab strait.
France, Italy and Greece have a ship each operating as part of Aspides, but Paris has been pushing to reinforce the mission. Currently, Aspides is not escorting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which has been shut by Iran. "We are ready to support and to share all the information we have," Mr Di Maio said.
France and Italy have also provided air defence systems to Gulf states – probably SAMP/Ts – while French Rafale jets have been used to support the UAE's defence against Iranian drones.
“As you can see during the last hours and days, many EU member states already sent assets and equipment to our Gulf friends to defend themselves," Mr Di Maio said. "This is very important because it is part of the overall complimentary commitment by the EU and its member states.”
'Strong' relations
The reason EU-Gulf co-operation has worked so well since the start of the war more than a week ago goes back to the launch of a strategic partnership in 2022, Mr Di Maio said.
The former Italian foreign minister was nominated as special representative for the region a year later and, in 2024, EU and Gulf leaders met for the first time in person in Brussels. This was followed by ministerial meetings in Kuwait, Luxembourg and Belgium. The goal has been to deepen trade relations and security co-operation and work together on visa rules.
"EU-GCC relations are strong even outside times of crisis," Mr Di Maio said. "This is the opportunity to show we were already working together and using those tools that we have implemented together during last years, we can face even the current challenge."
In contrast to the US, which appears to have pulled the Middle East into a war with no clear aim or end in sight, Europe has in the past week emphasised its loyalty to its regional partners.
Credibility and friendship
In a solemn address last week, French President Emmanuel Macron detailed defensive operations he ordered in the Gulf, to which France is bound by at least three defence agreements. "France's credibility depends on being a trusted partner that honours its commitments, especially in these troubled times," he said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni soon followed suit, adopting a similar posture of backing Gulf partners while ruling out offensive military operations. Italy's push to offer air defence support to Gulf states "raised eyebrows" in Ukraine after Rome refused to respond positively to a similar request from Kyiv, Mr Loss said.
"Europeans are already deploying quite a few of these systems on the eastern flank as part of Nato's enhanced forward presence, and so they don't have that many systems left," said Elio Calcagno, a defence and security researcher at the Institute for International Affairs in Italy. "It's a huge balancing act for them and the starting point is already quite difficult."
Cinzia Bianco, a fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations think tank, said France was probably largely motivated by a desire to highlight its reliability compared with the US, amid tense relations between Paris and Washington. Ms Meloni, however, has among Europe's best relations with the US administration and likely seeks to appear to be complementing Washington's actions.
"The baseline is that there is an opportune moment to push ahead with the work that they [Europeans] have been doing, to get the two sides closer and more aligned," Ms Bianco said. "I do see a political will to go in that direction."
Loyalty in friendship also appeared important to Mr Di Maio, who said he wanted to take the opportunity of speaking to The National to "send a huge hug to all Gulf citizens".
"I can imagine what they are experiencing now. They have our support, solidarity and concrete help," he added.
