PRE-VIEWING:

What is the Eurasian Economic Union?

What are the EAEU institutional and regulatory bodies?

What is the scope and priorities of the integration?

WHILE-VIEWING:

While watching, pay attention to the following words and expressions in context. Use them in your answers to the questions below and discussion.

  • economic project
  • set common goals
  • joint defense policy
  • comprehensive modernisation
  • improving competitiveness
  • sustainable development
  • mutual trade
  • favourable geographic position
AFTER-VIEWING:

What benefits and expectations can the integration bring?

What capacity does the Eurasian project possess?

What Is the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)?

HIGHLIGHTS:
  • read the passage
  • focus on key terms
  • summarize the information
  • elaborate on the concepts
  1. The establishment of the EAEU
  2. The structure of the EAEU
  3. The objectives of the EAEU

KEY TERMS 

compriseto include or contain
implementto put into effect according to or by means of a definite plan or procedure
objectivea purpose; aim; goal
ensureto guarantee; to make secure or safe
executive body the branch of an institution charged with the execution and enforcement of laws, policies and the administration of an institution affairs
overseeto supervise; manage
entitya unit considered as distinct, independent, or self-contained
draftto compose, make a blueprint, draw up an outline of a document/ bill/ treaty/ agreement
submitto present for approval or consideration
accession agreementan agreement concluded between the Union and states that are not member states, usually, in their terms, ‘with a view to membership’

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an international economic union and free trade zone comprising countries located in central and northern Asia and Eastern Europe. The founding member states of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia established the union by treaty in 2014 and officially implemented the agreement beginning on Jan. 1, 2015.

It is estimated that nearly 200 million people live within the member states and that EAEU countries have $5 trillion in combined GDP.

Key points

  • The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is a free trade agreement that came into being in 2015 to increase economic cooperation and raise the standard of living of its members.
  • Member countries include Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
  • Unlike the European Union (EU), the EAEU does not share a common currency.

Understanding the Eurasian Economic Union

The Eurasian Economic Union was created in part in response to the economic and political influence of the European Union (EU) and other Western trade agreements. Member states of the EAEU include Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. The key objectives of the organization are to increase cooperation and economic competitiveness for the member states, and the promotion of stable development in order to raise the standard of living in member states.

The EAEU ensures the free movement of goods, services, labor, and capital between the states, and provides for common policies in the macroeconomic sphere, transport, industry and agriculture, energy, foreign trade and investment, customs, technical regulation, competition, and antitrust regulation. Unlike the treaty forming the Eurozone, the treaty forming the EAEU has not to date established a single currency.

The EAEU heads of state comprise a governing body known as The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, and the executive body which oversees day-to-day operations is known as the Eurasian Economic Commission, an analog to the European Commission. The Court of the EAEU serves as the judicial body.

History of the EAEU

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the economies of the former Soviet republics were in shambles due to decades of mismanagement, and many Eurasian republics experienced abrupt economic turmoil as they adjusted to the post-Soviet era. The political breakup of the Soviet Union also broke up many of the productive economic relations between these countries. 

However, the end of the Soviet Union as a political entity did not mean that the historical ties between Russia and the countries known as the “Near Abroad” had evaporated nor that they could not still reap the gains of comparative advantage and trade or the benefits of economic integration. New forms of economic cooperation were needed. 

To this end, talks began between states in the region regarding economic cooperation. In March 1994, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev first suggested the idea of establishing a trade alliance during a speech at Moscow State University.

By June 1994, a detailed plan for a Eurasian Union was drafted and submitted to heads of state. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed The Treaty on the Customs Union in 1995, laying the groundwork for economic cooperation between the member states. Subsequently, over the next decades, a series of additional treaties strengthened economic relations between Eurasian states, all of which had formerly been members of the Soviet Union.

In Dec. 2010, The Declaration on Establishment of the Single Economic Space of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation was signed, establishing the foundation for the EAEU. This treaty, which entered into force in 2012, ensured the free movement of goods, services, labor, and capital between the states.

On May 29, 2014, the EAEU was formally established when founding member states Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union and this treaty was entered into force on Jan. 1, 2015. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan signed EAEU accession agreements in Oct. 2014 and Dec. 2014, respectively. On Jan. 2, 2015, The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union entered into force for Armenia, and on Aug. 6, 2015, it entered into force for Kyrgyzstan.

Future of the Eurasian Economic Union

Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled his ultimate goal is to extend the Eurasian Economic Union to all of the post-Soviet states. This would necessarily exclude the three Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) who have already instead joined the European Union.

Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Turkey have each been offered membership. However, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Turkey have also been offered EU membership. Pro-Russian break-away regions in Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine have all made moves toward integrating with the EAEU. These two economic unions are, in effect, locked in competition over the economic integration of Eastern Europe. 

KEY TERMS

MATCH THE TERM WITH ITS DEFINITION:
comprisea purpose; aim; goal
implementto compose, make a blueprint, draw up an outline of a document/ bill/ treaty/ agreement
objectivethe branch of an institution charged with the execution and enforcement of laws, policies and the administration of an institution affairs
ensurean agreement concluded between the Union and states that are not member states, usually, in their terms, ‘with a view to membership’
executive body to include or contain
overseeto supervise; manage
entityto present for approval or consideration
draftto put into effect according to or by means of a definite plan or procedure
submita unit considered as distinct, independent, or self-contained
accession agreementto guarantee; to make secure or safe
RESTORE THE SENTENCE BY FILLING IN THE KEY TERM:
1. The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an international economic union and free trade zone ……………… countries located in central and northern Asia and Eastern Europe. 
2. The founding member states of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia established the union by treaty in 2014 and officially ……………… the agreement beginning on Jan. 1, 2015.
3. The key ……………… of the organization are to increase cooperation and economic competitiveness for the member states, and the promotion of stable development in order to raise the standard of living in member states.
4. The EAEU ……………… the free movement of goods, services, labor, and capital between the states, and provides for common policies in the macroeconomic sphere, transport, industry and agriculture, energy, foreign trade and investment, customs, technical regulation, competition, and antitrust regulation.
5. The EAEU heads of state comprise a governing body known as The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, and the ……………… which ……………… day-to-day operations is known as the Eurasian Economic Commission, an analog to the European Commission.
6. However, the end of the Soviet Union as a political ……………… did not mean that the historical ties between Russia and the countries known as the “Near Abroad” had evaporated nor that they could not still reap the gains of comparative advantage and trade or the benefits of economic integration. 
7. By June 1994, a detailed plan for a Eurasian Union was ……………… and ………………to heads of state. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed The Treaty on the Customs Union in 1995, laying the groundwork for economic cooperation between the member states.
8. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan signed EAEU ……………… in Oct. 2014 and Dec. 2014, respectively.
COMPLETE THE PASSAGE WITH THE WORDS FROM THE BOX:
supranational 
ensures 
competitiveness 
promote 
application 
living standards
pursues 
fostering
appointed
proposals 

The Eurasian Economic Union is an international organization for regional economic integration. It has international legal personality and is established by the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union.

The EAEU provides for free movement of goods, services, capital and labor, 1) …………….. coordinated, harmonized and single policy in the sectors determined by the Treaty and international agreements within the Union.

The Member-States of the Eurasian Economic Union are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation.

The Union is being created to comprehensively upgrade, raise the 2) ……………..of and cooperation between the national economies, and to 3) …………….. stable development in order to raise the 4) …………….. of the nations of the Member-States.

Eurasian Economic Commission is a permanent 5) …………….. regulatory body of the Union, with its members 6) …………….. by the Council of the Commission and the Board of the Commission. The core tasks of the Commission are 7) …………….. the conditions to support the operation and development of the Union, and drafting 8) …………….. in the field of economic integration within the Union.

The Court of the Eurasian Economic Union is the court of justice of the Eurasian Economic Union, which 9) …………….. the uniform 10) …………….. of the EAEU Treaty and other Union treaties by the Union Member-States and bodies.

MIXED BAG

Zero duty rates and tariff incentives for particular types of critical imports to be extended until end of March 2023

26 September, 2022

    The Council of 1) the/ x Eurasian Economic Commission approved the 2) party / parties’ proposals to extend the zero rates of import 3) customs duties/ duty customs and tariff 4) exemptions/ exceptions for particular types of 5) crucial / critical imports until March 31, 2023.

    Along with that, a decision will be adopted soon on instructions from the Commission’s Council on a number of 6) commodity/ asset items under the EEC Board’s jurisdiction.

    “Despite the positive effect of the customs and tariff regulation measures 7) adopted/ adapted in the spring, there are still some sensitive items for which the zeroing of duties or tariff exemptions are extended for six months. We mean about a quarter of the goods from the initial list,” Andrey Slepnev, EEC Minister in charge of Trade, informed.

In particular, the extension will cover 8) crude/ raw materials: pharmaceutical and chemical products, varnishes, dyes, textile and leather processing agents, certain types of adhesives and starches, plastics, rubber and products made from them, certain cellulose products, raw materials from wool, cotton and linen, chemical threads, yarn and fibers. The list will also 9) include/ involve some finished products, 10) like/ such as medicines, medical equipment, reagents for laboratory research.