H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy for the United Arab Emirates, has blasted the European Union for keeping the country on its ‘black list’ for nations that have strategic deficiencies in combating illicit financial flows – and for an EU directive that will see countries slapped with penalties on their imports for not having trade unions.
Al Marri was also critical of the proposed legislation from the European Union that will penalise imports from countries that don’t have trade unions.
Al Marri made the comments during an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum, which is taking place in Davos, Switzerland from January 20-24th.
The Minister of Economy for the UAE, insisted that he planned on holding talks with spokespeople from the EU over their labour requirements.
Al Marri said he was perplexed that the UAE remained on a blacklist, and pointed to the fact that the Financial Action Task Force, which is a global body removed the country from its ‘grey list’ in 2024.
“The question of the EU black list, this is a question for them. I do not understand how the UAE is still on the black list. The UAE managed to get out of the grey list in record time, based on assessment and based on people who come on site and scrutinize your systems for weeks and months,” said Al Marri.
He did acknowledge that the UAE is making diplomatic efforts to resolve the situation, but did so without giving any indication of whether the EU’s stance was softening.
Al Marri blasted the EU directive that may punish imports from countries that don’t foster an environment in which trade unions operate, claiming that the EU can’t dictate to other countries how they govern their labour systems.
“You can’t dictate what other countries do with their labour systems and management. What works in the UAE works. The proposed EU directive is really going to challenge the oil and natural gas industries,” said Al Marri.
The UAE, an OPEC member, ships little of its crude to Europe, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. But it is planning to export more of its liquefied natural gas there.
Qatar, one of the world’s biggest LNG producers, has voiced similar criticism about the EU’s climate directives and said they may result in less fuel being sent to the bloc.
Al Marri also stressed that whilst the UAE has introduced corporate tax, it has no plans to introduce income taxes. One of the big attractions for ex-pats is a tax-free salary, but it is not on the table according to the Minister of Economy for the UAE.
“There’s a lot of speculation on that. It’s not on the table. It’s not in the rooms of discussions. It’s not being discussed in the meetings. It’s not coming anytime soon,” said Al Marri.