A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Eurasian Economic Union
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 Coat of arms
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_-_Crimea_disputed.svg) Member states Territories occupied by Russia[1] | |||||||||||
| Administrative centers | |||||||||||
| Largest city | Moscow 55°45′N 37°37′E / 55.750°N 37.617°E | ||||||||||
| Working language | Russian | ||||||||||
| Type | Economic union | ||||||||||
| Member states | |||||||||||
| Leaders | |||||||||||
• Chairman of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (2024) |  Nikol Pashinyan | ||||||||||
• Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission |  Bakhytjan Sagintayev | ||||||||||
| Establishment | |||||||||||
• Original proposala | 1994 | ||||||||||
| 10 October 2000 | |||||||||||
| 1 January 2010 | |||||||||||
• Establishment agreed | 18 November 2011 | ||||||||||
| 1 January 2012 | |||||||||||
• EAEU Treaty signed | 29 May 2014 | ||||||||||
• EAEU established | 1 January 2015 | ||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
• Total | 20,229,248[2] km2 (7,810,556 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||
• 2022 estimate |  182,131,000[3] | ||||||||||
• Density | 9.12/km2 (23.6/sq mi) | ||||||||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2022 estimate | ||||||||||
• Total | US$5.677 trillion[3] | ||||||||||
• Per capita | $31,200 | ||||||||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate | ||||||||||
• Total | US$2.573 trillion[3] | ||||||||||
• Per capita | $14,100 | ||||||||||
| Currency | |||||||||||
| Time zone | UTC+2 to +12 | ||||||||||
| Driving side | right | ||||||||||
| Calling code | |||||||||||
| Internet TLD | |||||||||||
Website EAEUnion.org | |||||||||||
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or EEU)[note 1] is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single market. As of 2023, it consists of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over $2.4 trillion.[3]
The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union was signed on 29 May 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, and came into force on 1 January 2015.[4] Treaties aiming for Armenia's and Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union were signed on 9 October and 23 December 2014, respectively. Armenia's accession treaty came into force on 2 January 2015. Kyrgyzstan's accession treaty came into effect on 6 August 2015.[5] Kyrgyzstan participated in the EAEU from the day of its establishment as an acceding state.[6][7]
The EAEU encourages the free movement of goods and services, and provides for common policies in the macroeconomic sphere, transport, industry and agriculture, energy, foreign trade and investment, customs, technical regulation, competition, and antitrust regulation. Provisions for a single currency and greater integration are envisioned for the future.[8][9] The union operates through supranational and intergovernmental institutions.[10] The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is the supreme body of the Union, consisting of the Heads of the Member States. The second level of intergovernmental institutions is represented by the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (consisting of the Heads of the governments of member states). The day-to-day work of the EAEU is done through the Eurasian Economic Commission, the executive body of the Union. There is also a judicial body – the Court of the EAEU.[11]
History
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Proposal
In the 1990s, Russia and the Central Asian republics were weakened economically and faced declines in GDP as a result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. The member states of the union underwent economic reforms and privatisation.[journal 1][14] The process of Eurasian integration began immediately after the break-up of the Soviet Union. When the USSR began to fall in 1991, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia[journal 2] of the founding republics signed the Belavezha Accords on 8 December 1991, declaring that the Soviet Union would cease to exist and proclaimed the Commonwealth of Independent States in its place.
In 1994, during a speech at Moscow State University, the first President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev, suggested the idea of creating a "Eurasian Union" as a regional trade bloc in order to connect to and profit from the growing economies of Europe and East Asia. The vision would be to simplify the free flow of goods across Eurasia.[15][16][17] The idea was quickly seen as a way to bolster trade, boost investment in Central Asia, Armenia and Belarus, and serve as a complement to the Eastern Partnership.[16][18]
Founding treaties (1990s)
During the 1990s, the Eurasian integration process was slow, possibly due to the economic crisis experienced after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the size of the countries involved (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan cover an area of about 20 million km2). As a result, numerous treaties have been signed by member states to establish the regional trade bloc gradually.[journal 3][journal 2]
In 1995, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, and later acceding states Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed the first agreements on the establishment of a Customs Union. Its purpose was to gradually lead the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between member states.[19]
In 1996, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan signed the Treaty on Increased Integration in the Economic and Humanitarian Fields to begin economic integration between countries to allow for the creation of common markets for goods, services, capital, labour, and developing single transport, energy and information systems.[journal 2][20]
In 1999, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed the Treaty on the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space by clarifying the goals and policies the states would undertake in order to form the Eurasian Customs Union and the Single Economic Space.[21][22]
Eurasian Economic Community (2000–2014)
To promote further economic integration and more cooperation, in 2000 Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan established the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) which Uzbekistan joined in 2006. The treaty established a common market for its member states. The Eurasian Economic Community was modelled on the European Economic Community.[23] The two had a comparable population size of 171 million and 169 million, respectively.
A Treaty on a Single Economic Space by Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine was signed in 2003 and ratified in 2004, but the process was stalled after the Orange revolution.[24][25]
In 2007, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement to create a Customs Union between the three countries.[26]
Establishing the customs union and single market (2010–2014)
The Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia (now the Eurasian Customs Union) came into existence on 1 January 2010.[27] The Customs Union's priorities were the elimination of intra-bloc tariffs, establishing a common external tariff policy and the elimination of non-tariff barriers. It was launched as a first step towards forming a broader single market inspired by the European Union, with the objective of forming an alliance between former Soviet states.[28] The member states planned to continue with economic integration and were set to remove all customs borders between each other after July 2011.
On 1 January 2012, the three states established the Eurasian Economic Space which ensures the effective functioning of a single market for goods, services, capital and labour, and to establish coherent industrial, transport, energy and agricultural policies.[29][30] The agreement included a roadmap for future integration and established the Eurasian Economic Commission (modelled on the European Commission).[31][32] The Eurasian Economic Commission serves as the regulatory agency for the Eurasian Customs Union, the Single Economic Space and the Eurasian Economic Union.[29]
Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union
In 2011, the then-Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin, announced his support for Nursultan Nazarbayev's idea for the creation of a Eurasian Economic Union.[33][34] On 18 November 2011, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed an agreement setting a target of establishing the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015.[31] The member states put together a joint commission on fostering closer economic ties.[29][35]
On 29 May 2014, the presidents of Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia signed the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, which came into effect on 1 January 2015. The presidents of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan were also present at the signing ceremony. Russian president Vladimir Putin stated, "Today we have created a powerful, attractive centre of economic development, a big regional market that unites more than 170 million people."[36] Kazakh politicians emphasized the Eurasian Economic Union was not intended to be a political bloc, but a purely economic union.[36] Bakytzhan Sagintayev, the first deputy prime minister of Kazakhstan and lead negotiator, said, "We are not creating a political organisation; we are forming a purely economic union." He further stated "it is a pragmatic means to get benefits. We don't meddle into what Russia is doing politically, and they cannot tell us what foreign policy to pursue."[36] By October, the treaty had received parliamentary approval from all three states.[37] On 9 October 2014, a Treaty to enlarge the EAEU to Armenia was signed.[38][39] Kyrgyzstan signed the Treaty on 23 December 2014 and became a member of the Eurasian Union on 6 August 2015.[40][41]
Structural evolution
| Year | Signed Documents |
|---|---|
| 1995 | Treaty on the Customs Union between Belarus and Russia |
| Treaty on the Customs Union between Kazakhstan and Russia | |
| 1996 | Agreement on Increased Integration in the Economic and Humanitarian Fields Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan |
| 1999 | Treaty on the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan (Agreement to complete the formation of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space) |
| 2000 | Treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan |
| 2003 | Treaty on forming the Single Economic Space Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Ukraine |
| 2007 | Treaty on the Commission of the Customs Union Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia |
| Treaty on the Establishment of the Integrated Customs Territory and Creation of the Customs Union Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia | |
| 2010 | Establishment of the Customs Union Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia |
| 2011 | Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Commission Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia |
| The decision of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council on the entry of international agreements into force forming the legal base of the Customs Union and Single Economic Space Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia | |
| Declaration on Eurasian Economic Integration Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia | |
| 2012 | Establishment of the Single Economic Space Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia |
| Eurasian Economic Commission started functioning | |
| 2015 | Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union |
| The agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union |
Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022)
As a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US and EU placed sanctions upon Russia and Belarus.[42] On March 10, 2022, Russia suspended exports of wheat, meslin, rye, barley, and corn to the Eurasian Economic Union to secure the country's food supplies.[43] The ban was reversed on April 1, 2022, although other restrictions on the trade of foods were simultaneously introduced.[44] On March 29 a Kazakh government official stated that Kazakhstan would abide by US and EU sanctions and would not facilitate any circumvention, despite its membership of the EAEU. The official explained that Kazakhstan does not wish to be targeted by secondary sanctions, and instead will be seeking to expand its cooperation with the EU.[42]
On December 15, 2023, the EAEU signed a free trade agreement with Iran that will eliminate customs duties on almost 90% of goods. The agreement serves to replace a similar temporary agreement that has been in force since 2019.[45]
Membership
| Country | Accession date | Date of signature |
|---|---|---|
| Armenia
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2 January 2015[46] | 10 October 2014[46] |
 Belarus
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1 January 2015[46] | 29 May 2014[46] |
| Kazakhstan
|
1 January 2015[46] | 29 May 2014[46] |
 Kyrgyzstan
|
12 August 2015[47] | 23 December 2014[46] |
 Russia
|
1 January 2015[46] | 29 May 2014[46] |
The treaty establishing the Eurasian Economic Union was formally signed by three states which were part of the former Soviet Union: Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia.[48][49] Agreements to enlarge the EAEU to the other post-Soviet states of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan were signed on 9 October and 23 December 2014, respectively.[39][40][41][50][51] For Kyrgyzstan, facilitation of labour migration regulations with Russia was seen as the main benefit of joining the Eurasian Economic Union. The population migration indicator had an inverse dependence with GDP per capita, consumer price index, minimum wage, and unemployment rate.[52]
Armenia announced its decision to join the Eurasian Customs Union in September 2013. President Serj Sargsyan announced the decision after talks with his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.[53] The treaty enlarging the EAEU to Armenia was signed on 9 October 2014.[38] By signing this contract, Armenia has accepted corresponding application, and thereby gained access to the EAEU single market with a population of 170 million citizens.[54] Armenia is the only country of the EAEU that has no common border with the other member states of the union. Georgia guaranteed a free transit corridor for exporting its goods to the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenian deputy economic minister Emil Tarasyan stated.[55]
Moldova was granted Observer Status in April 2017.[56]
Uzbekistan and Cuba became observer members on 11 December 2020.[57] After the presidential elections in December 2021, Uzbekistan was expected to obtain full membership by 2022 or 2023.[58] In December 2022, Russian prime minister Mishustin mentioned the advantages of Uzbek full membership in EAEU.[59] By February 2023, Uzbek prime minister Aripov announced the completion of the preparatory work to ensure harmonization of national technical regulations with the EAEU standards.[60]
Presidency
Each year, a Member State is elected chairman to head the Union. Chairmanship is passed from country to country in alphabetical order in the Russian language. Armenia currently holds the chairmanship.
