Economic Integration in the Framework of EurAsEC Cancelled :: Charter'97 :: News

Yesterday Secretary General of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) Grigorij Rapota stated that a packet of documents on forming the Customs union had been finalized for 90%. The legal base is planned to be finished by summer, when the summit of the presidents of the countries-members of the community is to take place. However, politicians and economists do not hide doubt: in the next 2-3 years the union wouldn’t appear, to their mind.

Today the Eurasian Economic Community includes 6 countries: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Moldova and Ukraine were granted observer status within EurAsEC. Needless to say how difficult economic relations between Moscow and Kyiv, Moscow and Chisinau are. Yet, they are not taking part in the talks on Customs union they. But there are problems with standing members of the community. Russian-Belarusian relations are still under the influence of the gas conflict which influenced trade in general. Kyrgyzstan has alienated from Moscow after the “flower revolution”. Even previously loyal Tajikistan started to turn towards Europe, a Russian newspaper “Novye Izvestiya” writes.

Meanwhile, yesterday Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov gave an estimation of integration success: “Despite of positive results in social and economic development of all EurAsEC members, in 2006 the community failed to realize the available integration potential and carry out steps defined by integration bodies in different directions of activities. The sides haven’t found understanding on forming regulatory and legal framework still, and in particular, coordination of actions on forming Customs union with the process of some member countries’ joining the WTO, and on status, composition and a mechanism of decision-making of the supranational regulating body, a commission of the Customs union”.

It seems that the problems are not noticed inside the organization. As the deputy head of economic policy department of the EurAsEC Anatoliy Bravov said to the “NI”, the economic integration develops successfully, and creation of the Customs union is near at hand. As said by him, the prepared packet of documents “contains concrete suggestions on procedures and institutions of the new union, and on forming supranational bodies which are to regulate these issues”. “Now everything depends on national governments,” the official said. However, Mr. Bravov could not say when these documents could be considered and what variants of supranational bodies could exist. He didn’t want give examples of success in economic cooperation of the EurAsEC countries, though they seem doubtless to him.

The chairman of the Russian Council of Federation’s Committee on CIS affairs Vadim Gustov has expressed his opinion about the prospects of the Customs union more clearly. As said by him, the project has entered “a new phase”. The senator is reserved about the terms forecasts. “25 documents are to be signed between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan within 2-3 years. And a bit later, after bringing to conformity national customs legislation, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are to join us,” the “NI” informs. “Negotiations with Uzbekistan are carried out as well”. Mr. Gustov sees the advantage of that in more favourable conditions for attracting labour migrants, uniting the energy system and liberalization of the trade.

nevertheless experts are not hurrying to applaud. “Talks about creation of the Customs union a held for a long time, but no significant changes have been reached,” Gennadiy Chufrin, the head of the Asian and Pacific studies center of the World Economy and International Relations Institute said. “For today the structure and functions of supranational organization which is to redistribute customs income of the union are not clear; the problem of warehouse spaces and transportation via borders within zones are not solved. These seem to be technical questions, but to a large extent they are influenced by the politics. Firstly, the relations between member countries are not unruffled, and secondly, the real political will is not noticed. And without it the process wouldn’t break the deadlock get off the ground”.