The establishment of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space within the Eurasian Economic Community
On August 16, 2006 in Sochi, the presidents of the EurAsEC member states adopted Resolution No. 313 on the formation of the three-state Customs Union within EurAsEC, comprising Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia.
The legal framework for the Customs Union was established to accommodate a transition from the first stage of the already functioning free trade regime to the second stage of the three-state Customs Union, to ultimately be joined by other EurAsEC countries when ready.
On October 6, 2007, the meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council adopted documents establishing the institutional structure of the Customs Union and determining the procedure for the accession of other members. Also, the 2007-2010 action plan for the formation of the Customs Union within EurAsEC was approved.
A regular meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council was held on October 10, 2008 in Bishkek at the level of heads of state. Changes were introduced to the statute and procedures. The EurAsEC Interstate Council at the level of heads of state assumed the functions of the supreme body of the Customs Union.
An important step in the establishment of the three-state Customs Union was a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council/the supreme body of the Customs Union held at the prime ministerial level on June 9, 2009 in Moscow, which approved the Customs Union’s unified customs tariff. At the meeting, the decision was made to notify the World Trade Organisation about the intention of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan to start the negotiating process on joining the WTO as a single Customs Union with a common customs territory. The Customs Union Commission was instructed to initiate the accession process.
The timeframe for the establishment of the common customs territory of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the Russian Federation was determined, with the preliminary stage till January 1, 2010, followed by a first stage till July 1, 2010 and a second stage till July 1, 2011.
Another decisive step in the creation of the Customs Union was taken at a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council on November 27, 2009 in Minsk, where the presidents of the three states approved the decision to declare the Customs Union effective as of January 1, 2010.
Those present signed the treaty on the Customs Union’s Customs Code and drafted an action plan for the enforcement of the code. The Unified Customs Tariff was approved and enacted on January 1, 2010, as established by the supranational body – the Customs Union Commission. They also approved a unified commodity code listing and other international documents of unified customs and tariff regulations. Members of the Customs Union also approved a provision on the Expert Council, an advisory body that will hold quasi-judicial hearings to consider appeals from commercial entities in relation to their activities within the Customs Union.
At a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council held on May 21, 2010 in St Petersburg, the prime ministers of member states made decisions on the enforcement of important international documents comprising the legal framework of the Customs Union.
The key result of the July 5, 2010 EurAsEC Interstate Council meeting in Astana was the decision on the enactment of the Customs Code of the three-state Customs Union since July 6, 2010 (in Russia and Kazakhstan, it came into force on July 1, 2010).
Thus the first stage of the creation of the Customs Union within the EurAsEC was completed.
During a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council, the supreme body of the Customs Union, on November 27, 2009 in Minsk, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia agreed to intensify their efforts to draft the legal framework for the Common Economic Space. The Customs Union Commission was instructed to draft and present an action plan for the establishment of the Common Economic Space to the heads of state by December 20, 2009.
On December 19, 2009, the EurAsEC Interstate Council, the supreme body of the Customs Union, at the level of heads of state, adopted the action plan for the establishment of the Common Economic Space of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. In line with the action plan, the first package of 14 basic documents was to be signed by January 1, 2011 and enacted by July 1, 2011; the second package of six documents was to be signed by July 1, 2011 and enacted by January 1, 2012.
A decision to accelerate the process was then made at a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council on July 5, 2010 at the level of heads of state. The governments of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia were instructed to take measures and ensure the signing of all twenty international agreements comprising the legal framework of the CES by January 1, 2011. Some of the documents were later combined, so the current package contains 17 documents.
At a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council on November 19, 2009, the prime ministers of the Customs Union states signed four agreements.
The remaining international agreements comprising the legal framework of the CES were signed at a meeting of the EurAsEC Interstate Council on December 9, 2010. Three documents were signed by heads of state, and the other 10 were signed by deputy prime ministers. Thus the process of drafting and signing relevant documents was completed.
The agreement on the establishment, management, functioning, and development of common markets for petroleum and petroleum products among CES member states was to be enforced in parallel with bilateral agreements on Russian-Belarusian and Russian-Kazakh relations in oil trading. These agreements were also signed at the meeting.
The ratification of these agreements is to be finalised by July 1, 2011. All agreements are to come into effect by January 1, 2012, thereby initiating the full launch of the Common Economic Space with the free movement of goods, services, capital, and labour.
Summing up the results of the summit, the heads of state from the member nations adopted a declaration expressing their confidence in the effective development of the integration process in Eurasia, with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan soon to join the Customs Union and the CES, “to jointly follow a path of deeper socio-economic integration.” The declaration also stated that the CES remains open to the accession of other nations.
According to the document, by developing the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space, member states are moving toward the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union to ensure a well-balanced, mutually complementary, and mutually beneficial economic cooperation with other countries, international economic associations, and the European Union in order to eventually create a common economic space.
