The EU--Arab Style

It is common knowledge that Turkey wants to join the European Union. And it’s been a long hard fight for Turkey, even given that the country was once the cradle of the Ottoman Empire, which, at its height reached across much of southern Europe. If Turkey is having such a hard time joining the EU, imagine what other Middle Eastern countries would have to go through to join.

But that’s not what I want to talk about. I’m more interested in the Gulf Region.

The Gulf States, those countries with the most oil (and thus money) in the Middle East have joined together to create a union of Arab States based on the same principles as the European Union. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) began its two-day meeting on the ninth. The purpose? To discuss plans for a unified monetary system that should be in place by 2010. If the GCC can pull this together, it will be a huge step for Arab countries. So far, they all seem dedicated to its success. Even Oman, who has declared that it will not be able to meet the 2010 deadline, is full of team spirit. It’s dropped out, but declared that it plans to join when it is able to fulfill membership obligations.

Wait, there’s more. There was a little surprise announced at the GCC meeting as well. Apparently, the Gulf States are doing research into building a nuclear program. Naturally, they have stated that it will be a peaceful program. But with Iran, a predominately Shi’ite country, pursuing nuclear weapons just on the border of the Gulf region, there’s no doubt that the Gulf States are feeling threatened.

The US hasn’t released an official statement on this issue yet. But you can bet that Washington is worrying over what could happen if some of its wealthiest allies no longer need American bases to defend their oil fields.