Rights groups condemn Brussels for hosting Saudi prince

Human rights activists have condemned the EU's decision to host the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, at a Brussels summit, cementing his international rehabilitation six years after the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

- Jennifer Rankin

Saudi Arabia's de facto leader is one of six Gulf representatives taking part in the first summit between the EU and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The gathering, the initiative of the outgoing head of the European Council, Charles Michel, looks likely to expose the differences between the two regional blocs on Ukraine, the Middle East and their future ties on trade and access to visas.

“We don't see eye to eye on all topics. And of course, negotiating a statement with this part of the world is not always easy,” a senior EU official said before the one-day meeting yesterday. “To be frank, that's not easy with our 27 member states.”

Asked whether any of the EU's member states had qualms about the invitation to Prince Mohammed, a senior EU diplomat said: “The question you raised is not raised here.”

US intelligence agencies concluded in 2021 that the Saudi crown prince, known as MBS, had approved the brutal murder of Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist, who lived in exile in the US and was one of the regime's strongest critics.