Political Motivations Underpin Debate on Monetary Union: Gulf Currencies Are Already Well Aligned, but the Mechanics of Creating a Monetary Union Are Politically Charged. Clare Dunkley Reports on the Process

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The economic criteria for a successful monetary union are relatively straightforward. Pegged to the dollar and so already both monetarily similar and constrained in the use of monetary policy tools, the GCC economies meet the majority of the conditions. However, the mechanics of establishing the rules and institutions of currency union present a whole different set of challenges. And the six governments have only five years and four months to meet them.

A technical committee, composed of senior officials from regional finance ministries under the auspices of the Riyadh-based GCC Secretariat, has been allotted the politically charged task of mapping the process. "The headline …