The history of establishing the Eurasian Economic Community
On February 26, 1999, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a Treaty on a Customs Union and a Common Economic Space stipulating the following integration stages:
First stage: Initiate free-trade in full, including abolishment of tariffs and quantitative restrictions in mutual trade, introduction of a common system for levying indirect taxes, and the elimination of administrative, fiscal and other barriers that hinder the free movement of goods.
Second stage: Establish a customs union with a common customs space, common customs tariffs, the abolition of customs regulations on common borders and standardise economic and trade regulations;
Third stage: Establish a common economic space ensuring the implementation of a common economic policy and the creation of a common service, labour and capital market, the unification of national legislation, as well as the agreed-upon social and science-and-technological policy.
Experience of multilateral cooperation shows that it is impossible to achieve the above goals without creating the required organisational-legal system.
On October 10, 2000, in Astana, the Presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a Treaty on Establishing the Eurasian Economic Community. The Treaty entered into force on May 30, 2001 after being ratified by all member-states.
In January 2006, Uzbekistan joined the Eurasian Economic Community but terminated its membership in December 2008.
Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, the Inter-State Aviation Committee and the Eurasian Development Bank (an international financial organisation with a statutory capital of $1.5 billion, established by Kazakhstan and Russia in 2006) all have observer status at the Eurasian Economic Community. In 2009, Belarus, Tajikistan and Armenia joined an agreement on establishing the Eurasian Development Bank.
The Eurasian Economic Community now accounts for 93% of the former Soviet Union's territory with a population of 206 million, or 74% of the population of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The Eurasian Economic Community has established a free-trade regime which abolishes tariffs and quantitative restrictions in mutual trade. This promoted the expansion of mutual trade turnover by 350% in 2000-2008.
Mutual trade turnover increased from $30 billion in 2000 to $123 billion in 2008.
In October 2007, the heads of state of the six member-states decided to establish the tripartite Customs Union comprising Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. Other member-states will join as soon as their economies are prepared for this.
The Customs Union is established in accordance with international standards and regulations, specifying common customs tariffs, a common customs space and common external borders. The Customs Union Commission, a supranational body of the Customs Union headed by Executive Secretary Sergei Glazyev, was launched on January 1, 2009.
In December 2003, the Eurasian Economic Community was granted observer status at the UN General Assembly. In December 2007, the 62nd UN General Assembly passed a resolution on cooperation between the UN and the Eurasian Economic Community.
The Eurasian Economic Community maintains a stable relationship with the UN and its principal bodies and regional organisations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, UNESCO, the UN Economic Commission for Europe and the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
On February 4, 2009, the heads of state of the Eurasian Economic Community's member-states resolved to establish the Anti-Crisis Fund and a High-Tech Centre.
The Anti-Crisis Fund will control assets in convertible hard currencies equivalent to $10 billion. The respective shares of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus will be $7.5 billion, $1 billion and $10 million, respectively. Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Armenia will contribute $1 million each.
The Anti-Crisis Fund's allocations will be disbursed in accordance with specific deadlines and will also be payable and recoverable. The funding is used to provide member-states with sovereign loans for anti-crisis programmes, as well as stabilisation loans for low-income member-states and to finance inter-state investment projects.
The High-Tech Centre would be expected to function in the form of an international venture fund. The Centre will be jointly financed and will utilise available state and private development instruments and institutions.
Governing bodies of the Eurasian Economic Community
The Inter-State Council, the supreme body of the Eurasian Economic Community, meets at the level of heads of state not less than once a year and at the level of heads of government not less than twice a year.
The Inter-State Council examines high-priority Eurasian Economic Community issues linked with the interests of its member-states, charts the relevant integration strategy and integration guidelines and prospects and adopts decisions aiming to achieve the organization's goals and objectives.
Under the October 10, 2008 Bishkek decision of Community heads of state, the Inter-State Council also assumed the functions of the supreme body of the incipient Customs Union.
The Integration Committee, a permanent body comprising Deputy Prime Ministers of member-states, facilitates cooperation between Community agencies, drafts proposals for the agenda of the Inter-State Council's meetings, as well as various decisions and documents, and also oversees the implementation of decisions and the budget of the Eurasian Economic Community.
The Integration Committee submits an annual report on the state of Community affairs and a report on its activities to the Inter-State Council.
The Integration Committee meets at least once every three months. The chairpersons of the Inter-State Council and the Integration Committee are appointed by each Community member-state in accordance with the Russian alphabet and on a rotation basis over the duration of one year.
The Commission of Permanent Representatives appointed by member-states facilitates routine work in between meetings of the Integration Committee.
The Secretariat of the Eurasian Economic Community coordinates the work of the Inter-State Council and the Integration Committee and provides the required information-technical support.
The Secretariat is headed by a Secretary-General, appointed for a period of three years by the Inter-State Council at the level of heads of state. The Secretary-General, the top administrative official of the Eurasian Economic Community, takes part in the meetings of the Inter-State Council. The EurAsEC Secretariat is located in Almaty, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and Moscow, Russian Federation.
Tair Mansurov of Kazakhstan, appointed by Community heads of state on October 6, 2007, is the Secretary-General of the EurAsEC.
The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, a parliamentary-cooperation body of the Eurasian Economic Community, has also been established. The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly examines issues of harmonising (unification and standardising) national legislation of member-states and bringing such legislation in conformity with treaties and agreements, concluded by member-states.
The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly drafts fundamental legislation in areas of mutual relations and adopts model draft legislation, used for drafting national legislative acts. It also has the right to submit recommendations to the Inter-State Council, to submit enquiries and recommendations to the Integration Committee and the parliaments of member-states, as well as enquiries to the EurAsEC Court.
The Inter-Parliamentary Assembly is located in St Petersburg, Russian Federation.
The Eurasian Economic Community Court is called on to facilitate the standard application of Community treaties and decisions being adopted by community bodies. The Court must also settle economic disputes arising from Community decisions and treaties and provide explanations and findings as regards the organisation's documents.
Under a November 3, 2004 Agreement between the EurAsEC and the CIS, the CIS Economic Court, located in Minsk, the Republic of Belarus, shall temporarily exercise the functions of the EurAsEC Court, until the latter's formation.