UAE calls for pan-Gulf parliament

A parliamentary body for the GCC modelled on an existing Arab parliament would encourage collaboration in light of the recent upheaval in the Arab world, FNC speaker says.

DUBAI // The UAE called for the creation of a pan-Gulf parliament at a meeting of GCC delegates in the emirate yesterday.

Mohamed Al Mur, the speaker of the FNC, proposed a body modelled on an existing Arab parliament.

Mr Al Mur said parliamentary bodies needed to collaborate more in light of the recent upheaval in the Arab world.

Dr Abdul-Rahim Al Shaheen, an FNC member who led the closed meeting, said the delegates had agreed to raise the proposal for consideration.

Speaking on the sidelines of the fourth GCC Parliamentary Coordination and Foreign Relations Committee, he said: "The idea of a GCC parliament was not refused completely, but put off for a while."

Dr Al Shaheen said the proposed body would be similar to the Arab Transitional Parliament, which discusses current affairs affecting the Arab world.

He said the GCC parliament would be made up of a "limited number of current parliament members in the six countries including current members of the FNC".

Among the duties of the proposed parliament, he said, would be discussing challenges to economic and human development, and the formulation of foreign policy based on common GCC interests.

Dr Al Shaheen said members were visiting European parliaments to study their methods.

Mr Al Mur said the joint parliament could bolster the periodical meetings of the speakers of the shura councils and parliamentary bodies of the GCC states. He said it could also unify the duties of the existing Gulf parliamentary bodies.

He suggested regulations approved by all six nations would dictate the proposed parliament's exact role.

The proposal could involve the countries taking a joint stand on regional and international issues.

"We believe it is important for a joint GCC parliamentary conference on the roles of the different parliaments and their responsibilities in light of the fast Arab and international changes," he said.

Ambassadors to the UAE from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia also attended the meetings.

The UAE first proposed a pan-Gulf body in 2008, but speakers of the other GCC parliaments downplayed the idea at a later meeting. They said that it was still too soon to create such a body and that coordinating through a common committee was sufficient.

When asked if this time the speakers would be more likely to agree to the proposal, Dr Al Shaheen said: "Possibly, especially after the Arab spring."