billion euros' worth of goods purchased by the European Union
2025, full calendar yearEU external trade by product — EurostatHome / Jurisdictions / United Arab Emirates
Country file
United Arab Emirates
The Union's purchases here are mainly raw materials and energy. The population is largely connected and local hosting is dense here. Regional markers: Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Relationship with the European Union
Free trade agreement with the European Union — negotiations under way, resumed in 2025
No preferential arrangement applies. Trade falls under the common tariff, sometimes eased by preferences that the Union grants unilaterally and can withdraw. Security, however, is demonstrated case by case.
Sources reviewed on 17 September 2026
of these purchases: fuels and lubricants
2025EU external trade by product — Eurostatof these purchases: manufactured goods classified by material
2025EU external trade by product — Eurostat01
Economy and sectors
Under negotiation
Free trade agreement with the European Union
negotiations under way, resumed in 2025No preferential arrangement applies. Trade falls under the common tariff, sometimes eased by preferences that the Union grants unilaterally and can withdraw. Security, however, is demonstrated case by case.
Map of trade agreements — European CommissionThird country
regime applicable to European data and access
European framework trackedNo general adequacy decision. The transfer mechanism and its accompanying measures must be chosen according to the actual data flows.
Adequacy decisions — European Commission100%
of the population uses the Internet
2024, latest available figure
Internet use — World Bank / ITUNo country regime
European Union restrictive measures targeting the country
EU Sanctions Map, as at 26 September 2026No EU restrictive measures regime targets this country. Thematic regimes — terrorism, human rights, cyberattacks, chemical weapons — nonetheless target individuals of any nationality: screening against the consolidated list applies here as elsewhere.
EU Sanctions Map — European Commission02
Incidents, fraud and impersonation
4 192
secure servers per million inhabitants
2024, latest available figureLocal hosting and certifications are common there. That says nothing about the security of any given provider — only about the terrain in which it operates.
Secure Internet servers — World BankUnforeseen intermediary
identification of the parties to the transaction
Cross-cutting controlExtraction chains involve numerous intermediaries. Identify who invoices, who ships and who is accountable in the event of an incident, before the question arises.
03
Points to check within your organisation
What the service actually covers
An extraction-based economy tells you little about the provider you are assessing. Have them specify what is supplied, by which entity, and with what technical resources of their own.
The small amount of data that flows, and its framework
Without an adequacy decision, the volume transferred matters less than its nature: contracts, contact details and access logs are enough to trigger the obligation. Ask which transfer tool is used and what its scope covers.
Where your data actually resides
Local hosting is common here, which does not tell you where your data actually lands: ask for the country of each environment, including backups, and who holds the keys.
Developments to be aware of
The topics that may change your answers
EU restrictive measures
No EU restrictive measures regime targets this country. Thematic regimes — terrorism, human rights, cyberattacks, chemical weapons — nonetheless target individuals of any nationality: screening against the consolidated list applies here as elsewhere.
EU–United Arab Emirates relationship
No preferential arrangement applies. Trade falls under the common tariff, sometimes eased by preferences that the Union grants unilaterally and can withdraw. Security, however, is demonstrated case by case.
Data transfers
No general adequacy decision. The transfer mechanism and its accompanying measures must be chosen according to the actual data flows.
Export fabric
The values come from EU customs data: they show what Europe buys, not what a given supplier produces.
Fuels and lubricants: 32.7% of what the Union buys here. No single sector really dominates these purchases. It is therefore the contract, not the country, that should determine what is actually being supplied.
Official sources
- Trade relations by country — European Commission
- Map of trade agreements — European Commission
- EU external trade by product — Eurostat
- Adequacy decisions — European Commission
- Internet use — World Bank / ITU
- Secure Internet servers — World Bank
- EU Sanctions Map — European Commission
- EU Consolidated Financial Sanctions List — European Commission
Confidential exchange
Describe your European relationship and the request received.
The United Arab Emirates file sets out a country and its relationship with the Union. What remains to be established is exactly what the service covers, and what dedicated resources are committed to it.