The Russian Federation has ratified an amendment to the Treaty on the EAEU, transferring to it a number of regulatory powers

The State Duma has ratified the third package of amendments to the basic treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) – it involves the transfer of several blocks of national regulatory powers to the EEC level. In particular, the issues of using an electronic digital signature (EDS) for EAEU companies’ access to government procurement of participating countries, as well as regulating the introduction of emergency phytosanitary measures, have been transferred to the commission’s jurisdiction for many years, which have not been resolved at the national level. It is also planned to simplify the procedures for issuing licenses for export and import through the introduction of uniform requirements for electronic document management. All this should facilitate the allied trade exchange, in which both the Russian Federation is interested after the departure of suppliers from developed countries, and partners, for whom the common market provides part of the economic growth.

The State Duma yesterday ratified the protocol on amendments to the Treaty on the EAEU dated May 29, 2014 – this is the third major block of amendments to the main document of the five countries. The protocol itself was signed on May 25 by the heads of the countries of the union, it contains 33 amendments – according to Deputy Minister of Economy of the Russian Federation Dmitry Volvach, who presented the bill on its ratification in the State Duma, this is the result of two years of work by the EAEU countries, the new norms will come into force immediately after they are ratified by all countries of the union ( Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus have already done this). At the same time, according to Kommersant, the ratification of previous amendments to the union treaty, agreed upon at the end of 2021, is being completed – they, like the current package, have not yet been ratified by Kazakhstan.

In particular, the third package brings to the level of the EEC Council the definition of rules for the mutual recognition of digital signatures for the purposes of public procurement – practice has shown that at the national level, issues of eliminating barriers for EAEU suppliers are resolved ineffectively. Thus, the requirements for bank guarantees before the intervention of the EEC created obstacles for the participation of “allied” suppliers in the Russian government procurement market (see Kommersant on August 30). Now, mutual recognition of digital signatures will not be limited to government procurement – the protocol provides for a broader scope of their use in cross-border B2G (Business to Government) interactions, de facto this is an opportunity for companies to use “union” government services electronically. According to Mr. Volvach, ratification will allow “to resolve the issues of launching legally significant electronic document flow between business and government bodies of the EAEU countries,” which will simplify the process and reduce administrative costs. The amendments also provide for the electronic issuance of licenses for export and import – this will eliminate the need for paper copies of permits. The procedure for receiving them will also be simplified: automatically, without the participation of officials of national government agencies. New rules for issuing foreign trade permits were discussed yesterday at the EEC Council; their approval, according to Kommersant, is expected before the end of November.

It is expected that the decisions of the third package will contribute to the development of cross-border trade and integration into the EAEU, in which, after the start of the military operation in Ukraine, Russia is keenly interested in its market, which is scarce after the departure of suppliers from developed countries, as well as the rest of the union countries, for which the common market has become a source accelerating economic growth. “The digital track of changes to the EAEU treaty can stimulate cooperation processes on the territory of the union – for business, mutual recognition of digital signatures means the emergence of a unified and understandable environment for interaction, as well as a reduction in direct and transaction costs. However, the effect will depend on the practical implementation of these norms,” says Sergei Mikhnevich, Managing Director of the RSPP, Executive Secretary of the EAEU Business Council.

According to one of the council members, the union’s companies can already conduct trusted electronic interactions with each other, but until now a business entity from one jurisdiction has not had the opportunity to enter into trusted electronic interactions with government agencies of another state and into business relations directly regulated by this state. “An electronic digital signature recognized by the native state is not recognized by another EAEU state, and the latter cannot allow a subject of another jurisdiction to receive and use its digital signature. Moreover, some EAEU states cannot allow the use of certain elements of digital identification in another jurisdiction of the union. For example, Belarusian businesses cannot use certain digital identification tools of the Russian Federation that are available to Russian businesses. Changes to the agreement are a step in the right direction to build a space of trust,” he explains.

Earlier, EEC Minister for Internal Markets, Informatization and ICT Varos Simonyan explained that the union regulation of B2G interactions creates the basis for the provision of interstate services electronically. At the same time, 14 priority areas were identified for the mutual recognition of digital signatures in cross-border B2G interactions, among them the circulation of medicines and medical products, the monetary and financial sphere, taxation, state monopolies, transport, government procurement, intellectual property, agro-industrial complex, customs regulation, trade and technical regulation.

The powers to introduce emergency phytosanitary measures will also be raised to the EEC level – the commission will have to consider proposals from member states to introduce emergency phytosanitary measures (we are talking, for example, about banning the supply of agricultural products with new pest species not included in the Union’s profile register until the extent of risk associated with them) and based on the results may decide to introduce such a measure throughout the customs territory of the EAEU. Note that in addition to their direct purpose (to limit the spread of agricultural pests), phytosanitary restrictions are often used in international trade as a tool in trade negotiations, and their coordination at the union level can strengthen the position of the initiators due to the scale of the common market.

Tatiana Edovina, Diana Galieva, Oleg Sapozhkov