Why ordinary Russians benefit from the Eurasian Economic Union

I will immediately note that there are definitely more than one successful organizational and legal decisions on integration in the former USSR. I unequivocally attribute the creation of the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) in 1992, a regional defensive alliance, to serious events in this regard. The CSTO demonstrated the effectiveness and urgent need, in particular, on the New Year days of 2022, when Kazakhstan was subjected to a terrorist attack by extremists. The timely reaction of the leaders of the CSTO countries, in fact, saved Kazakhstan from terror and lawlessness.

The unequivocally successful form of integration is the Union State of Russia and Belarus, formed by the leaders of our countries in 2000. This state has not only its own authorities, but also the union budget, a common visa regime, mutual recognition of each other’s civil passports, and much more. Citizens of Russia and Belarus have not felt each other as foreigners for a long time, and the border pillar between our countries was dug and sent to the museum back in May 1995 by Alexander Lukashenko and Viktor Chernomyrdin.

Let’s also not forget about the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), established in 2001. Initially, this association was conceived as a regional security support organization “against terrorism, separatism and extremism”, but today it has become one of the most authoritative global integration associations. Now this organization, in addition to its leaders – Russia and China, includes almost all the Central Asian republics, the issue of Belarus joining the SCO has been practically resolved (the reception will take place this year). In addition, India, Iran, and Pakistan are represented in the SCO. Mongolia and Afghanistan have observer status, while dialogue partners have another two dozen countries of Eurasia and North Africa. Today, the SCO, along with BRICS, is the most attractive organization in the world in terms of integration and expansion of international cooperation. Interest in joining this association is shown by states not only in Asia, but also in Africa and Latin America.

But back to the EAEU… What is the Eurasian Economic Union like now? As you know, the EAEU began to function in 2015, after the signing of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Association. The EAEU replaced the Eurasian Economic Community that existed since 2001. Now the EAEU unites Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Observers in the EAEU are Moldova (de jure), Cuba and Uzbekistan. The EAEU free trade zone already includes Iran, Vietnam, Serbia, and Singapore along with the participating countries. Negotiations on expanding the free trade area and cooperation are ongoing with the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, China and many other countries. The idea of ​​economic integration with Egypt and access to the African continental free trade zone is being discussed in all seriousness.

What does all this give ordinary Russians? Here I would note several fundamental points that have already become significant phenomena in our even everyday life.

First, it is a customs union, or rather, a single customs space. All goods produced within the Eurasian Economic Union move around our countries without encountering customs posts, and customs duties are not paid on them within the union, which, of course, makes the prices for these goods more attractive to you and me. We constantly see food products from Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan on the shelves of our stores, Belarusian MAZs and BelAZs roam our expanses, together with Kazakhstan we implement technological and transport solutions, etc. Together we develop industrial cooperation. Now the EAEU has formed a common economic space for the movement of almost all basic goods and services, as well as personnel and capital. Only the market for oil, gas and oil products is still at the level of national regulation, but even here integration is irreversible.

The Customs Union forms a common internal market, which in the EAEU has almost 200 million people (when integrating, for example, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, this figure will be significantly exceeded). It is comparable to the market of USA, EU, Brazil, Indonesia, Southeast Asian countries, etc.

Everything that we produce within the EAEU is a product of a single national economic complex, and with this product we are already exporting together outside the customs union. As for the trade turnover within the EAEU, for Russia its growth is now the main direction of industrial and commercial development. Cooperation with partners in the EAEU is now comparable in importance, expressed in terms of turnover, with trade with China or Turkey and already leaves behind trade, for example, with the European Union or the United States. In terms of foreign trade turnover, Belarus is now overtaking Germany, which, of course, cannot but rejoice us.

Of course, we have room to grow, for example, to reach the total domestic market of 300 million people. And here we need not only to solve internal Russian demographic problems, but we will also, one way or another, have to integrate other countries into the Eurasian Economic Union, and the borders of the former USSR are not an obstacle for us here.

Let me remind you that in the “romantic zero” Ukraine (represented by Mr. Kuchma already mentioned above) also participated in the discussion of the contours of the “single economic space” and even signed an agreement with Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia in 2003, but the political history went on, alas, in a different scenario. In principle, despite the economic collapse that occurred in Ukraine, its potential still remains significant, and after the successful demilitarization and denazification of this country, it is quite possible to return to its integration into our common civilizational space.

The second most important aspect, which, among other things, the EAEU provided, and which is a very important advantage for the citizens of our states, is free movement throughout our space. Those who often fly by plane and visit airports, of course, noticed that boarding flights to cities of the EAEU countries is carried out in the domestic departure zone, which creates convenience for passengers and greatly simplifies our movement throughout the EAEU space. I’m not even talking about the absence of internal visas: their appearance within the EAEU is almost impossible. According to internal Russian passports, we can be in any republic of the EAEU both on official business and for recreation. By the way, the development of tourism within our union is a separate area of ​​our common economic and cultural development.

The third aspect is a single or very close educational, scientific, sociocultural, and linguistic space. Despite all the speculations and political provocations, the Russian language remains one of the most important factors in building a common civilizational future. It is also important to add about the opportunities to enjoy the benefits of an integrated system of social or pension security, a single healthcare space, etc. I will add that a huge number of cultural figures from Armenia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan have become real stars in Russia, and this, of course, enriches the culture of the peoples of our countries.

As I said above, Eurasian integration is not so much a successful unifying formation in the space of the former USSR, it is the realization of more than a thousand years of cultural unity and the strengthening of the civilizational continental principle. It is no coincidence that we are constantly talking about the Greater Eurasian Partnership, and here we are in dialogue with the Arab world, India, China, and the Asia-Pacific community.

I would like to point out a few things that are fundamental to me in terms of future development in this area. First, the irreversible transition to settlements within the EAEU in national currencies and the parallel introduction of a common digital currency for the EAEU countries and their partners. Here, a special role could be played by the digital ruble, which is already being introduced in Russia and which can be used for interstate settlements within the framework of the EAEU and its free trade zone.

Secondly, the development and implementation at the supranational level in the EAEU of plans and projects for strategic planning and development, which was, in particular, announced at the II Eurasian Economic Forum held in Moscow in May this year. It is now easier to move to real state strategic planning at the level of a strong regional association, which is the EAEU. And here, as they say, it’s within reach both to the new allied State Planning Commission and to new strategic projects such as GOELRO, BAM or the conquest of space. Remarkably, all the projects from the common Soviet past indicated as examples are still relevant today. We still need energy, we need advanced logistics solutions, we need to increase our presence in outer space. And these are all tasks not of a national, but of a Eurasian level of complexity and significance.

The budget of the Eurasian Union can be formed right now: we have a source of its filling – these are customs duties, which are carried out within the framework of a single customs space. As for the expenditures of the union budget, here too everything is obvious – these are common projects and tasks of the utmost complexity, which I spoke about above. And we need to create the Eurasian Parliament right now – the need for it is obvious. Here, the model that has already been implemented in the Union State of Russia and Belarus can become a prototype. I think that the EAEU will follow this path in order to implement the scheme “Five countries – one union state – a single family of Eurasian peoples.”

In conclusion, I would like to note that, despite all my optimism, of course, not everything is good in our integrating “kingdom-state”. Unification, of course, is not proceeding at the pace we would like, and here citizens rightly ask us, politicians, their uncomfortable questions. But in this part of the other way, except for the Eurasian integration, we do not exist. And the protection of the rights and interests of our citizens – social, economic, socio-cultural – depends, among other things, on addressing issues of global political and economic development. The collapse of the Soviet Union is the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the late 20th century. Besides us, there is no one to eliminate the consequences of this tragedy and build a new common Eurasian home.