GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Strength and weakness compared to another custom Union.

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Strength and weakness compared to another custom Union

Introduction

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is the official cooperation council of the Arab states that are located in the region of Gulf. The gulf Cooperation council is responsible for the promotion of economic cooperation and financial and social stability among the member states that includes Persian Gulf Nations (CEE, 2011). The member countries of Gulf Cooperation council are Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The members of the Gulf Cooperation Council shares a common political system and similar outlooks on the cultural and social aspects. The ruling system and political settings of these countries consists of autocratic monarchy system that includes the hold of sheikhs and the participation of political actors is limited in the affairs of the country (BBC, 2012). The Gulf Cooperation Council intends to develop a sense of cooperation among the member states that could prevent them from external threats likely to come from neighbouring countries or any country of the world. The council provides security to the member states. This paper discusses the strengths and weaknesses of Gulf Cooperation Council as compared to another custom union. The other custom union identified for the analysis of the paper is the European Union which is one of the largest economic cooperation council of European countries. The paper also evaluates the stance of Gulf Cooperation Council on the basis of available statistical data. In the end, a thorough analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of Gulf Cooperation Council is provided in the paper.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Gulf Cooperation Council compared to the European Union

Strengths

The Gulf Cooperation Council has built up a defence force for the protection and sectary of the member states based upon a common idea of the member countries of the Persian Gulf. The operational procedures, military system and the training aspects of the six countries in the Persian Gulf are collectively working for the betterment of the region. The representations of Arab countries that are under the Gulf Cooperation Council have a similar stance in the proceedings of United Nations. They vote and share same concepts regarding the issues of the world in the United Nations. The member states of GCC have developed a social integration system among the Persian Gulf states that enables people to take advantage of the integration of Gulf States. The Gulf Cooperation Council also attempts to promote economic integration which is the core function of the GCC. These factors have lead to the strength of the Gulf Cooperation Council in the region and around the world. According to the establishment laws present in Gulf Cooperation Council, the budget of the council is shared equally among the six countries present in Gulf Cooperation Council. This concept of GCC can be compared to the operations and functions of European Union. The structure of European Union allows the equal sharing of budget through a ...