Successful euro is in GCC's interest

After a year of desperate financial turmoil, the euro has survived surprisingly well, which is good news for the Europeans but also for the rest of the world. The European Union is the largest trading partner for most Gulf states, and despite the Gulf states' unequivocal commitment for their currencies to stay linked to the dollar, they have a strong interest in a successful euro which will offer increased stability to the global business world. The added impetus is that the Lisbon Treaty goes ahead.

The world's second largest reserve currency was launched only 10 years ago, and is run by the European Central Bank, ECB, that reports to the EU. When the euro started in 1999 as an accounting unit and then as a currency in 2002, many thought it might fail. The EU had not been very successful with its transnational projects, and the vital level of economic and political commitment from the member states seemed unlikely to happen, and the ECB did not look ready to exercise enough authority to make the euro stable. At the peak of the financial crisis the unity of the euro was under attack. Euros issued by euro zone members with poor economic management like Greece were trading at much larger margins than euros issued by Germany or France. The markets themselves saw a lack of political will or ability from the 16 member states to stand by their joint commitment. However the ECB is to be congratulated on managing the crisis well.