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EU, GCC to boost economic relations

Brussels - "With this dialogue here we want to address macro-economic issues including fiscal and monetary structural reforms."

The 6th annual dialogue between the 28-member European Union, or EU, and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, has started in Brussels with the focus of discussions expected to be on the impact on the economies of the two sides due to the drop in oil prices.
Elena Flores, director for international economic and financial relations in the European Commission, who is leading the EU side at the Dialogue, said there are various instances of dialogue between the Gulf countries and the EU.
"With this dialogue here we want to address macro-economic issues including fiscal and monetary structural reforms. This dialogue is very interesting as it allows people to speak very openly about shared problems, shared difficulties. We have common challenges like oil prices," she told the Kuwaiti News Agency, or Kuna, ahead of the meeting.
"For Europe it has been so far helpful for growth but it is something that we cannot cash it like forever. So we also need to prepare to know what we can expect developments in the medium term," said Flores who hails from Spain. "For the Gulf countries this is an issue about diversification in the economic base which is also something for Europe in different ways but we also need to diversify because markets are changing," she said. - Wam