VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
On February 26, 1999 Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed the Treaty on the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space, which set the stages for integration over an indefinite period.
At the first stage – to ensure the functioning of the regime of free trade among member states, including the elimination of customs tariffs and quantitative restrictions on mutual trade, the introduction of a unified excise tax system, the elimination of administrative, fiscal, and other obstacles to free trade.
At the second stage – to create a Customs Union complete with a common customs territory, a unified customs tariff, the elimination of customs procedures at mutual borders, and unification of economic and trade regulation mechanisms;
At the third stage – to create a Common Economic Space, envisaging a common economic policy and a common services, labour, and capital market, a unification of national legislature and coordinated social, scientific and technological policies.
The agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) was signed by the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan on October 10, 2000 in Astana. It went into effect on May 30, 2001 after being ratified by all five member states.
The following EurAsEC bodies currently operate under the agreement:
The Interstate Council is the supreme body of EurAsEC, which is composed of the presidents and prime ministers of member states. It considers issues of fundamental importance to the common interests of member states, determines integration strategies, and makes decisions on the programmes and goals of the organisation.
The Integration Committee is a permanent body of EurAsEC that ensures interaction among the governing bodies of member states, drafts proposals for the agenda of the Interstate Council and other official documents, controls the implementation of decisions, and manages the EurAsEC budget. The IC presents an annual report on its work and on EurAsEC affairs to the Interstate Council.
The Permanent Representatives Commission of EurAsEC oversees the work of the Community in periods between sessions of the Integration Committee. The heads of the state appoint permanent representatives to EurAsEC.
The Interparliamentary Assembly is a body of parliamentary cooperation within EurAsEC that considers issues related to the coordination and unification of national legislation among member states and brings it into line with agreements concluded within EurAsEC. The Interparliamentary Assembly is composed of parliamentarians delegated by the parliaments of the member states.
The EurAsEC Court is intended to ensure the uniform application of agreements and decisions adopted by EurAsEC. The Court also settles economic disputes arising over the decisions taken and agreements concluded by EurAsEC and gives explanations and counsel. The Court is comprised of two representatives from each member state.
The share of member states’ contributions to the EurAsEC budget and the share of votes in the Integration Committee and the Permanent Representatives Commission are directly proportional to the economic clout of member states. The amount of each member state’s contributions to the budget and the number of votes are distributed as follows: 40% (40 votes) from Russia, 20% (20 votes) from each Belarus and Kazakhstan, 10% (10 votes) from each Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. The EurAsEC Interstate Council makes decisions by consensus.
Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, the Interstate Aviation Committee, and the Eurasian Development Bank have been granted observer status in EurAsEC.
In December 2003, the Eurasian Economic Community was granted observer status in the UN General Assembly.
Protocols were signed on January 25, 2006 in St Petersburg on Uzbekistan’s accession to EurAsEC and on introducing relevant amendments and additions to the agreement to formalise Uzbekistan's membership.
On October 15, 2008, the president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov, notified the EurAsEC Integration Committee that Uzbekistan was suspending its membership, which led to the drafting and signing of documents allowing the EurAsEC to function as a five-state organisation.
On October 6, 2007, the 19th meeting of the heads of state of the EurAsEC Interstate Council in Dushanbe resulted in the decision to prepare a legal framework for the Customs Union within the Eurasian Economic Community, which approved the Protocol on Introducing Amendments to the Agreement on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community of October 10, 2000. Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan signed the treaty on the Customs Union commission, on the creation of the common customs territory and the establishment of the Customs Union and the protocol on the procedure for coming into force international treaties aimed at the formation of a legal and contractual basis for the Customs Union, and for the withdrawal from or accession to these treaties. They also adopted a list of international treaties constituting the legal framework for the Customs Union and an action plan to establish the Customs Union within the Eurasian Economic Community. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are free to join the Union at any time when they are ready.
A special meeting of the heads of state of the EurAsEC Interstate Council on February 4, 2009 established the EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund to minimise the negative affects of the world financial and economic crisis on the economies of the EurAsEC states.
The EurAsEC Anti-Crisis Fund controls assets in freely convertible currencies equivalent to $10 billion. Russia contributed $7.5 billion, Kazakhstan contributed $1 billion, Belarus contributed $10 million, and Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Armenia each contributed $1 million to the fund. The Anti-Crisis Fund is used for granting sovereign loans, stabilising credit to maintain the economies of the low-income member states, and funding for interstate investment projects based on reward, maturity, and repayment.
In response to Kyrgyzstan’s desire to participate in establishing the legal framework for the Customs Union, a working group was formed during the fifth meeting of the Customs Union Commission, on May 29, 2009 in Minsk, to discuss Kyrgyzstan’s potential membership in the Customs Union. Thereafter, at the sixth meeting of the Union, on June 25, 2009 in Moscow, the chair and composition of the working group were defined.
The June 9, 2009 meeting of the prime ministers of the Interstate Council in Moscow was vital for the establishment of the three-state Customs Union. A unified customs tariff was agreed upon at the meeting, and on November 27, 2009, it was submitted for approval to the EurAsEC Interstate Council in Minsk. The tariff was enacted on January 1, 2010.
On December 19, 2009 during an informal meeting in Almaty (formerly Alma- Ata) among Customs Union heads of state, a decision was made on approving an action plan for the creation of the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Also, a joint statement of three heads of state was made marking the official inception of the three-state Customs Union as of January 1, 2010, which heralded the next stage of integration – that of the Common Economic Space (CES).
On July 5, 2010, a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council was held in Astana, Kazakhstan among heads of state. The meeting was attended by the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. As usual, the president of Armenia, an observer state, was also present at the meeting. The Russian delegation was headed by Dmitry Medvedev.
The meeting took a decision on signing a set of international agreements comprising the legal framework for the CES by January 1, 2011.
The key result of the meeting in Astana was the adoption of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, which was scheduled to come into force on July 6, 2010 (in Russia and Kazakhstan, the Customs Code came into force on July 1, 2010).
The first stage of the creation of the Customs Union within the EurAsEC was completed.
On December 9, 2010 a regular meeting among the heads of the five states of the EurAsEC Interstate Council was held in Moscow. Those present discussed an action plan for 2011-2013 and subsequent years in priority areas of EurAsEC development.
Russia will preside in the EurAsEC and the Customs Union for the remainder of the current year (2011). A regular meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council will be held in the second half of 2011 in Russia.
