Eurasian Economic Union

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Eurasian Union
Евразийский Союз
An orthographic projection of the world, highlighting the European Union and its Member States (green).
  States party to the 18 November 2011 agreement
  Other candidat states
  Possible future candidates
Political centresAstana
Minsk
Moscow
Official languagesBelarusian
Kazakh
Russian
Demonym(s)Belarusian, Kazakh, Russian
Proposed
Member states		 Belarus
 Kazakhstan
 Russia

(proposed)

 Kyrgyzstan
 Tajikistan
Establishment
• Proposed
1994
18 November, 2011
• Eurasian Economic Space (planned)
1 January, 2012
• Establishment the Eurasian Union (planned)
2015
Area
• Total
20,007,860 km2 (7,725,080 sq mi)
Population
• 2011 estimate
167,454,573
• Density
8.36/km2 (21.7/sq mi)
Currency
euro (€) (EUR)
Time zoneUTC+0 to +2
• Summer (DST)
UTC+1 to +3Template:Infobox European Union/RefTag
Calling codeSee list
Internet TLD.euTemplate:Infobox European Union/RefTag
This box:

The Eurasian Union (Russian: Евразийский Союз; Belarusian: Еўразійскі Саюз Kazakh: Еуразиялық Одақ) is a proposal for Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan[1][2][3] and other post-Soviet states. Russian experts speculate the Union could potentially include Finland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Mongolia[4] to deepen economic and political integration for these countries into a supranational union.[5] The idea of integrating those countries is at least very unlikely since some of them are members of the European Union and NATO. The idea, based on the European Union's integration, was brought to attention in October 2011 by the Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin,[3][6] but was first proposed as a concept by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, during a 1994 speech at a Moscow university.[7] On 18 November 2011, presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement, setting a target of establishing the Eurasian Union by 2015.[8] The agreement included the roadmap for the future integration and established the Eurasian Commission (modelled on the European Commission) and the Eurasian Economic Space, which both will start work from 1 January 2012.[9][8]

Membership

The Eurasian Union is said to be the brainchild of Vladimir Putin in the wake of his planned third term as the President of Russia. If realised, it would comprise a number of states, which were part of the former Soviet Union: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.[10] According to The New York Times, several candidates in Kyrgyzstan's 2011 presidential election have endorsed the concept.[11] Tajikistan's government said they were considering the possibility of membership.[2]

Russian speculation issued provocative statements that apart from post-Soviet states, membership to the Eurasion Union could be expanded to include other countries that have been historically or culturally close, such as Finland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Mongolia, incorporating them into a common state body where Russian would be the common language of communication and economic cooperation.[4] According to Vladimir Putin, the Eurasian Union would build upon the "best values of the Soviet Union", however critics claim this Russian integration drive aims to restore the Soviet empire.[12] Moreover free and wealthier European NATO and EU members are unlikely to quit both western organizations to join a somehow sketchy Union centered around Russia where they should play a secondary role since the accession.

Existing integration projects

The Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia between the three states has already brought partial economic unity, and the Eurasian Union is said to be a continuation of this customs union. A number of other regional organizations also provide the basis for further integration: the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the Eurasian Economic Community of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, consisting of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and the Commonwealth of Independent States comprising most of the post-Soviet countries.

Eurasian Commission

The agreement signed by presidents Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus has established the Eurasian Economic Commission, the supranational governing body of the Eurasian Economic Space, which will start work from 1 January 2012.[9] The Commission is modelled on the European Commission.[8] The headquarters of the commission will be in Moscow, and the expenses on the infrastructure and accommodation of commission workers will be financed by Russia, while on the whole the commission will be financed by all three countries dependent on taxation shares they receive from the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.[9]

The commission will be headed by the Council, composed of three Vice Premiers from the Government of Belarus, the Government of Kazakhstan and the Government of Russia, and each country will provide three more representatives who will carry out the operational management and oversee the everyday work of the organization.[8] All these top members will receive the status of federal ministers in their respective countries.[9] The commission will consist of a number of departments, and its lower rank staff will be composed of 84% Russian officials, 10% Kazakhstani, and 6% Belarusians, proportional to the populations of the member states.[8] A Russian candidate for the place in the commission's Council is Viktor Khristenko, the Minister of Industry and Trade (he will need to be made Vice Prime Minister in order to take the post), while Kazakhstani and Belarusians candidates are unknown yet.[9]

The Eurasian Commission will be eligible to take decisions not only regarding customs politics, but in such areas as macroeconomics, economic competition regulation, energy policy and financial policy. The Commission will also be involved in government procurement and labour migration control.[9] The agreement on the Commission contains tough anti-corruption regulations. It is said by President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia that both positive and negative experience of the European Union will be taken into account,[13]and argued that the Eurasian Union will avoid the problems of economic gaps and disparity between countries, such as found in the eurozone, since the member countries have a comparable level of economic development, as well as common history and values.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Putin calls for Eurasian union". B92. RIA Novosti. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  2. ^ a b "Putin calls for 'Eurasian Union' of ex-Soviet republics". BBC News. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  3. ^ a b Bryanski, Gleb (3 October 2011). "Russia's Putin says wants to build "Eurasian Union"". Yahoo! News. Reuters. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  4. ^ a b "Moscow fleshes out 'Eurasian Union' plans". EurActiv. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  5. ^ http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=134045
  6. ^ "Новый интеграционный проект для Евразии — будущее, которое рождается сегодня". Izvestia (in Russian). 3 October 2011. Retrieved 4 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Kazakhstan welcomes Putin's Eurasian Union concept". The Daily Telegraph. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Russia sees union with Belarus and Kazakhstan by 2015". BBC News. 18 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Евразийские комиссары получат статус федеральных министров". Tut.By (in Russian). 17 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  10. ^ Putin's Eurasian push challenges west by Neil Buckley, Financial Times, 6 October 2011.
  11. ^ Schwirtz, Michael (29 October 2011). "Kyrgyzstan Votes for a President, Feeling the Pull of Russia". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Putin, Medvedev praise values of Soviet Union". Reuters. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Встреча президентов России, Республики Беларусь и Казахстана". kremlin.ru (in Russian). 18 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  14. ^ "Медведев: Евразийский экономический союз избежит проблем еврозоны". news.mail.ru (in Russian). 18 November 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2011.

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