The Great War broke that trend, however, and both the Scandinavian and the Latin monetary union were dissolved. The EEC, predecessor of the European Union, was established after World War Two primarily as a project for peace. Political integration was the objective, to be achieved in large measure with economic means. When the Treaty of Rome, which established the EEC, was signed in 1957, there was already talk of a need to supplement the economic integration with a monetary union. When these ideas found expression in the 1970 Werner Plan for economic and monetary union, monetary and fiscal policy cooperation were equally prominent. According to the Plan; EMU would become a catalyst for the development of a political union without which it cannot ultimately survive. The currencies of Europe had already been linked up by the Bretton Woods agreement on international monetary cooperation. The Werner Plan extended this with the prospect of a single monetary policy and, in time, a single currency. In the present context it is worth noting that the Plan’s primary thrust was for increased economic coordination, above all the notion of harmonising the member countries’ stabilisation policies in order to avoid tensions. Pierre Werner, prime minister of Luxembourg, and the central bank governors on his committee proposed an economic policy centre that would control national budgets, regional, structural and social policies. The whole process would be crowned by the single currency. When the Bretton Woods system collapsed and the oil crises erupted, national considerations put a stop to the Werner Plan.
Innovative instruments such as the sukuk have attracted interest from both the Islamic and conventional markets. 2  BIS Review 43/2003  One of the central issues towards developing a dynamic Islamic financial industry is the Shariah. The Shariah should always be viewed as an enabler to innovation and creativity, rather than a constraint. On the contrary, innovation and creativity is strongly advocated. Efforts therefore, need to be enhanced to fully appreciate and maximise the true potential and wisdom of Shariah. Thus, there is a need for greater collaboration among the Shariah scholars, practitioners and researchers to undertake in-depth studies and research to originate products. This would provide the fundamental foundation towards developing a dynamic Islamic financial system. An issue that needs to be addressed is the development of a pool of intellectual capital for Islamic finance. The investment in adequate expertise for the development of Islamic financial instruments and services need to be made. In this regard, there is a need for Islamic financial players to intensify efforts in the training and development of expertise in the various specialised areas. Such Islamic financial programmes would benefit from a comprehensive approach, encompassing both conventional banking and Islamic banking, complemented with Shariah. The dynamism of the Islamic financial industry can only be demonstrated through a pool of talent that possesses convictions and expertise in Islamic finance.