The Europe Gulf Forum was launched to connect leaders and accelerate solutions for some of the most urgent issues facing both regions. More than a venue for dialogue, the Forum is intended as a catalyst for practical co-operation. Crucially, it brings together all the main stakeholders that can turbo charge responses: heads of state and senior government officials, institutional leaders, large investors and key business decision makers.
A Decisive Moment for Europe and the Gulf
The war in Iran is a shared crisis, and the stability and security of Europe and the Gulf are deeply interconnected. In Europe it can be measured in soaring energy bills, stalled investments, rising interest rates, higher debt servicing costs and hugely disrupted trade. Europe now needs to respond with greater urgency and resolve. The fact is that Europe’s economic security depends on Gulf security.
New, more effective channels are needed to address these immediate challenges. Europe should hear directly, more often, from the key Gulf states on what commitments should be made, and the two regions should take action together.
The inaugural Europe Gulf Forum, May 2026
In May 2026, the Antenna Group hosted the first Europe Gulf Forum in Greece, in partnership with the Atlantic Council. It brought together 23 heads of state, prime ministers, senior government officials, policymakers, and investors in a format that fostered trust and co-operation, leading to concrete outcomes from the start. The Forum is now a year-round platform. The annual flagship convening will be supported by leadership gatherings throughout the year – including a recurring session on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, sustaining dialogue and momentum between summits. The next Europe Gulf Forum will take place on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2026. The Europe Gulf Forum is a new strategic engine that combines Europe’s industrial depth, technological capability, regulatory leadership and institutional experience with the Gulf’s financial dynamism, strategic reach, energy leadership, and bold innovation ambition.
The third meeting of the Europe Gulf Forum took place in New York in September 2026, on the margins of the UNGA. It heard leaders from both regions and America urge governments to move faster with more concrete, practical plans or risk prosperity suffering in Europe and beyond. In particular the need to solve the on-going issue of trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz was cited as a critical issue.
Speaking after the meeting attendees talked about the need for renewed urgency and what now has to happen to make a breakthrough in the current crisis.
For years, Antenna has been at the center of promoting meaningful geopolitical dialogue and working to promote a stronger Europe while bridging Europe and the Gulf.
Antenna Group is fully owned by K Group, which is 100% owned by the Kyriakou family, marked by four generations of global entrepreneurial leadership with controlling interests across shipping, media, content and entertainment, asset management, and real estate.
Founded in 1988, Antenna Group has established itself as a leading international media, content, news and entertainment organization, owning and operating a diverse portfolio in Europe, North America, and Australia, reaching 140 million people directly and more than 500 million globally through its strategic partnerships. Antenna’s media investments and assets span 37 TV channels—free and pay TV, two streaming services, together with investments in news, content production, cinemas, digital media, e-commerce, radio, music, live events, and education. Now through this acquisition into the new Italian affiliate, the group is poised to grow further in Southern European markets.
With a reputation for objectivity, integrity, and innovation, Antenna Group has a four-decade track record of exceptional returns in its investments. In addition to successfully owning and operating leading media businesses, Antenna Group is a long-standing investor in the media and entertainment industries, including Raine Group - the global merchant bank advising and investing in high-growth sectors of TMT, entertainment and sports, Imagine Entertainment - the iconic Hollywood production company, TelevisaUnivision - the world’s largest Spanish-language media and content organization. The Antenna Group was an early investor in Facebook, Twitter (X), and Spotify before they went public. The Kyriakou family is also an investor in Semafor – the U.S. based, independent, rapidly growing, and highly influential global media and events platform. Since March 2026, the Antenna Group's affiliate has had 100% control of GEDI Gruppo Editoriale, including the newspaper La Repubblica, the radio brands Radio Deejay, Radio Capital, m2o, alongside HuffPost Italia, National Geographic Italia, Limes, and the advertising agency Manzoni.
Guided by its mission to inform and entertain people in a responsible, objective, enriching and balanced way, Antenna Group continues to expand into new markets and pursue bold growth opportunities in an ever-changing media landscape. As the media and entertainment industry undergoes significant transformation driven by technology and evolving consumer behaviors, Antenna Group is actively pursuing new investment opportunities worldwide, leveraging its extensive network, deep expertise, and substantial capital resources.
The Atlantic Council draws on its long-standing expertise in both Europe and the Gulf, leveraging its network and its convening power to foster stronger geopolitical cooperation and economic innovation between the two regions.
The Atlantic Council was established sixty-five years ago to promote and sustain US leadership alongside partners and allies to shape a better future. With a roster of more than 600 fellows in dozens of countries around the world on issues ranging from geopolitics to global finance to energy security, the Atlantic Council is the world’s pre-eminent platform for non-partisan research, analysis and dialogue on the most pressing global challenges and how to address them.
The Atlantic Council’s work on the Europe Gulf Forum is led by its Europe Center, which provides expertise to promote transatlantic leadership and a strong Europe in turbulent times; and its Rafik Hariri Center & Middle East Programs, which provides a forum for shaping a stable and prosperous Middle East and unlocking the region’s human and economic potential.
