The customs territory of the customs union consists of territories. What is a customs union and what does it mean

In Astana (Kazakhstan) by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. Entered into force on January 1, 2015.

: Armenia (since January 2, 2015), Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan (since August 12, 2015) and Russia.

The population of the EAEU countries as of January 1, 2016 is 182.7 million people (2.5% of the world population). Gross domestic product in the EAEU countries in 2014 amounted to $2.2 trillion (3.2% in the structure of world GDP). The volume of industrial production reached 1.3 trillion dollars (3.7% of world industrial production). The volume of foreign trade in goods of the EAEU with third countries in 2014 amounted to 877.6 billion dollars (3.7% of world exports, 2.3% of world imports).

The Eurasian Economic Union was created on the basis of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and the Common Economic Space as an international organization for regional economic integration with international legal personality.

Within the framework of the Union, freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labor is ensured, the conduct of a coordinated, agreed or unified policy in key sectors of the economy.

The idea of creating the EAEU was laid down in the Declaration on Eurasian Economic Integration adopted by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan on November 18, 2011. It fixes the goals of Eurasian economic integration for the future, including the task of creating the Eurasian Economic Union by January 1, 2015.

The creation of the EAEU means a transition to the next stage of integration after the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space.

The main goals of the Union are:

— creation of conditions for the stable development of the economies of the Member States in the interests of raising the living standards of their population;

— the desire to form a single market for goods, services, capital and labor resources within the Union;

— comprehensive modernization, cooperation and increasing the competitiveness of national economies in the global economy.

The supreme body of the EAEU is the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC), which includes the heads of member states. The SEEC considers the fundamental issues of the Union's activities, determines the strategy, directions and prospects for the development of integration and makes decisions aimed at realizing the goals of the Union.

Meetings of the Supreme Council are held at least once a year. Extraordinary meetings of the Supreme Council may be convened on the initiative of any of the Member States or the Chairman of the Supreme Council to resolve urgent issues of the Union's activities.

Implementation and control over the execution of the EAEU Treaty, international treaties within the Union and decisions of the Supreme Council are ensured by the Intergovernmental Council (EMC), consisting of the heads of government of the Member States. Meetings of the Intergovernmental Council are held as needed, but at least twice a year.

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is a permanent supranational regulatory body of the Union headquartered in Moscow. The main tasks of the Commission are to ensure the conditions for the functioning and development of the Union, as well as the development of proposals in the field of economic integration within the Union.

The Court of the Union is the judicial body of the Union, which ensures the application by the Member States and bodies of the Union of the Treaty on the EAEU and other international treaties within the Union.

The chairmanship of the SEEC, the EMC and the EEC Council (the level of vice-premiers) is carried out on a rotational basis in the order of the Russian alphabet by one member state for one calendar year without the right to renew.

In 2016, Kazakhstan chairs these bodies.

The Union is open for entry by any state that shares its goals and principles, on terms agreed by the member states. There is also a procedure for secession from the Union.

Financing of the activities of the Union's bodies is carried out at the expense of the Union's budget, which is formed in Russian rubles at the expense of the share contributions of the Member States.

The EAEU budget for 2016 is 7,734,627.0 thousand rubles.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources

The Customs Union is an interstate association between countries within the framework of the EAEU. The main purpose of the creation is to simplify trade operations between the states that are members of the association. The CU participants also adopted common customs tariffs and other regulatory measures.

The task of creating such an economic association:

Formation of a single customs territory within the countries that entered the association.
On the territory of the Customs Union of the EAEU, there are regimes of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on trade between member states.
Cancellation of control at internal posts on the border of countries that are included in the CU.
The use of the same type of mechanisms for regulating trade and the economy. For this, measures are being introduced to harmonize the legislation of the CU members.
Implementation and functioning of a single governing body.

As for trade relations with countries that are not members of the Customs Eurasian Economic Union, the following interaction is expected with them:

The application of a common tariff for certain goods that enter the territory of the association.
Use of unified measures of non-tariff regulation.
Carrying out the same customs policy.
Use of uniform tariffs.

At the moment, the most famous and long-functioning is the European Customs Economic Union. Its formation began in 1958.

Members, Territory and Governance

At the moment, the association consists of the following countries:

Russia since July 2010
Kazakhstan since July 2010
Belarus since July 2010
Armenia since October 2015
Kyrgyzstan since May 2015

Syria and Tunisia voiced their desire to join, it was proposed to become a member of Turkey, but so far no decision has been made on joining. It is clearly noticeable that participation in the bloc gives the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union the strengthening of economic relations.

The unification of the borders of the states indicated above became the basis for the formation of the considered customs association. The borders of the CU are the borders of the countries that are members of the union.

The governing bodies are the same, the main 2:

Interstate Council. This is the highest body, whose members are the heads of state and heads of governments of the CU countries. It is supranational.
TC Commission. This department solves all issues related to the formation of customs rules, is responsible for regulating the trade policy of states.

History of creation

The formation of the CU has become a lengthy and complex process in many respects. The member countries of the Customs Union 2019 are those states that have managed to go through all the stages of approvals and adjustments.

The process began in January 1997, when the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Kyrgyzstan signed an agreement "On measures to implement the agreements on the Customs Union." The need for such consolidation arose when it became clear that the USSR as a structure had gone into oblivion. Then the countries of the Customs Union (the list of 2019 proposed above) agreed to cooperate in order to form and develop a common economic space within the CIS.

Interesting! The idea of creating the union was formed at the beginning of 1994 by Nursultan Nazarbayev. As the basis of the CU in his vision, the common interests of the states that were previously part of the USSR should have become.

The idea of forming a union assumed the unhindered movement of goods and the provision of services to all participating countries. At the same time, the proposed format of economic contacts fully protected the interests of the countries of the Customs Union.

As a result, a single customs space was created without internal customs duties. Borders as such were transferred to the outer borders of the union. Ideally, trade was greatly simplified, but in reality everything turned out not so easy. at the first stage, the agreements included, among other things, the definition of the main areas of activity for each country to strengthen the union. More specifically:

Guaranteeing equal rights to the property of the Customs Union.
Members of the Eurasian Economic Union could freely dispose of the property of the CU within the limits of the legislation of the participating countries.
Creation of a unified regulatory framework for state regulation of the economy.

In the same 1997, the following integration departments were formed: the Interstate Council, the Integration Committee.

In 1998, Tajikistan became a member of the union, and an agreement “On the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space” was already signed between 5 countries. A few months later, the members of the Customs Union signed the following important documents:

"On the Formation of the Customs Union".
"On international road communications".
"On uniform conditions for transit through the territories of the countries participating in the Customs Union."
"On the interaction of energy systems".

In February 1999, the agreement "On the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space" was signed. Due to the adoption of these acts, it was possible to significantly simplify the procedures for border control between the member countries of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The next important steps are:

2007 Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan conclude an agreement on a single customs territory.
year 2009. Agreements that were previously signed are given a "physical form", that is, they are being implemented in practice.
2010 The Customs Code of the Customs Union adopted earlier comes into force, is formed and adopted.
During 2011-2013, important documents are being developed that regulate the activities of the union. Among the most important, there is a unified technical regulation on product safety.

2014-2015 were marked by the replenishment of the list of countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (for 2017 it is also relevant) with Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. In the future, the union will expand, at the moment Tunisia and Syria have expressed a desire to join, but so far the matter has not gone beyond talk and the composition remains the same.

In 2019, the previously adopted Customs Code of the EAEU came into force.

You will learn about the new Customs Code of the Customs Union of 2019 from our article. Go to .

Distribution of customs duties

The Unified Customs Union naturally receives duties for crossing the borders of the association, import/export of goods. The association has adopted a scheme for distributing these revenues among the member countries. The structure is like this:

Russia receives 85.33% of total revenues.
Kazakhstan - 7.11%.
Belarus - 4.55%.
Kyrgyzstan - 1.9%.
Armenia - 1.11%.

As you can see, taxes are distributed according to seniority, that is, the earlier a country became a member of the association, the greater the amount of income from duties it can count on.

At the moment, there is a period of formation of the CU, so the EU customs union has gone through a long period of 30 years until the moment of absolute formation.

Goals, directions

When creating a detailed economic space, the main goal was socio-economic progress. As a result, one of the main long-term goals was to increase the turnover of services of the participating countries. To begin with, this moment was realized between the participants through the following actions:

Implementation of common requirements and adoption of safety standards for domestic economies and the association in general.
Abolition of procedures at the internal customs of the Union countries. Due to this, the goods of the countries of the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Community have become more accessible and attractive.
Increasing trade through the above measures.

At the moment, the desired increase in trade is not happening, although new agreements are regularly adopted. True, the simplification of trade did not happen so significantly, competitive conditions improved.

Technical regulation

Technical regulation in the Customs Union is aimed at achieving the following goals and objectives:

Reducing the pressure on the manufacturer - economic and administrative.
Formation of two-level regulatory documentation, which helps to make the relationship in the market clearer and clearer.
Increasing the level of protection of markets from dangerous products.
Empowering companies to choose a commercial solution. This excludes double certification and duplication of other procedures.
Exclusion of technical barriers for members of the Eurasian Customs Union.
Stimulating the development of the economy in various ways.

As for the principles of technical regulation in the customs association, there are the following basic principles:

Establishment of a unified technical regulation for the participating countries regarding products and goods.
Pursuing a policy that is agreed with each country regarding technical regulation.
Until the entry of the TR of the Eurasian Economic Union of the EAEU, the effect of national legislation in this area.

Benefits of participating in the TS

At the moment, not all countries of the EAEU have joined the CU, each has its own reasons. But the main advantages of participating in such an association should be highlighted:

Significant reduction in costs for: processing, transportation of goods within the union.
Reduction of bureaucratic procedures, and as a result, time costs when transporting goods across the territory of the Customs Union.
Reducing the number that must be passed to travel with cargo to third countries.
The customs union in 2019 provides new markets.
Simplification of legislation due to its unification.

Contradictions, problems or why the TS does not work as planned

Since each country seeks to maintain and support its economy, it is not surprising that frictions and difficulties often arise. It is “convenient” to apply individual sanctions through the methods of non-tariff regulation, which is what is happening. Although the countries of the customs union with Russia in the period of 2018-2019 have already “befriended”, there were many problems before.

One of the most difficult conflicts between the Russian Federation and Belarus, when in 2014 Russia banned the export of meat almost in full. At that time it was 400 thousand tons. At the same time, there was a tightening of control over goods that cross the border of Belarus, although in fact, according to the norms of the Customs Code of the Customs Union, it is impossible to strengthen control measures.

The reaction of the president of the country participating in the Customs Union was not long in coming - Belarus returned border control on the border with the Russian Federation. The conflict has become a real problem, because Belarus has announced its intention to abandon the ruble in settlements and return to dollars. As a result, the idea of a customs union was strongly shaken - the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union felt insecure in this format of relations.

Conclusion

In the future, the economic association of the Customs Union has a chance for active development and implementation of all the declared advantages. While the formation process is going on, in general terms, the most interested participants are the neighbors of the Russian Federation, which, with the entry, will receive more favorable conditions for the purchase of gas and oil. The declared simplification of trade turnover has not yet been observed.

Video: Customs Union 2019

A customs union is a form of interstate agreement concluded between two or more states on the abolition of customs duties in trade.
In addition, the terms of the customs union provide for the creation of a single territory. As a rule, the CU countries conclude an agreement on the creation of interstate bodies that should coordinate the implementation of a common foreign trade policy.

It should be noted that the unified foreign trade policy provides for the holding of ministerial meetings that manage the relevant departments, the work of which is based on the activities of the interstate Secretariat. In fact, the Customs Union is one of the forms of interstate integration, which provides for the creation of interstate bodies.

According to the Agreement concluded on October 6, 2007, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation acted as the founder of this Commission. The seat of the Commission was the city of Moscow. Moreover, unlike a free trade zone, such a form of integration as the Customs Union is considered to be deeper. The sole regulatory body is the Customs Union Commission, which operates on a permanent basis.

The main tasks of the Commission of the Customs Union

The activity of the Commission of the Customs Union consists in issuing various legal acts signed by all members of the Commission. The composition of the Commission includes a chairman and two members. The Chairman of the Commission is Igor Ivanovich Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation.
Rumas Sergey Nikolaevich, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus, and Shukeyev Umirzak Yestaevich, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan became members of the Commission of the Customs Union.

The working body of the Commission is the Secretariat, which organizes the work of the Interstate Council of the EurAsEC. In addition, the Secretariat solves the problems of information technology support of the Commission. The work of the secretariat is carried out under the leadership of the Executive Secretary of the Commission.

The structure of the Secretariat includes a number of departments, namely:
- Department of Administration;
- Administrative department;
- Department of trade policy;
- Department of tariff and non-tariff regulation;
- Department of financial policy;
- Legal department;
- Department of policy in the field of sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary measures and technical regulation;
- Scientific and expert council.

Territory of the Customs Union - Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan

One of the key concepts appearing in the agreement on the conclusion of the Customs Union is the territory.
The territory of the customs union includes the territories of the countries that are members of this community. In particular, the unified zone of the union includes the territory of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Belarus and the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as artificial islands, objects and other structures located outside the above-mentioned states, which are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the member states.
The limits of the border of the customs union is determined by the territorial limits of the states.

According to the terms of international treaties concluded between the member countries of the Customs Union, the boundaries of individual territories located in the member countries of the Customs Union can act as a border. The current version of the Code of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, adopted on April 16, 2010, is the document defining the rules for conducting foreign economic activity on the territory of the participating states.

The Customs Code of the Customs Union includes the following sections:

1. Section of the main provisions, which contains the terms used, the concepts of customs value, statistics, country of origin of goods, ETN VED.

2. Section of customs payments.
This section presents the procedure for calculating duties and taxes, refunds, payment deadlines, enforcement, and securing the payment of various payments.

3. Section of control, which specifies the forms and procedure for the examination, inspections, detention of goods, as well as the risk management system.

4. Section of transactions containing a list of transactions that precede the filing of the declaration.
This section presents the procedure for temporary storage, as well as the departure and arrival of goods from the territory of the Customs Union.

5. Section of the operations required for carrying out the procedures for the placement of goods.
This section presents general concepts regarding the order, as well as the release of goods.

6. Section of procedures related to registration of transit of goods, export of goods, duty-free trade, warehouse, temporary export and entry from the territory of the Customs Union, the procedure for re-export and re-import, refusal in favor of the state and destruction of goods, etc.

7. Section containing the features of the movement of certain categories of goods across the border, as well as the features of operations in relation to these goods.

8. Section of transitional provisions of the Code of the Customs Union.

Knowledge of all the features of the clearance procedure helps to prevent the occurrence of controversial issues regarding the definition of the product code and the value of the cargo.
It should be noted that in addition to the Customs Code, the procedure for cargo clearance is also regulated by other domestic laws and international legal acts concluded between the member states that are part of the Customs Union.

The interstate agreement in the form of collective protectionism of different countries, providing for a single customs territory, was the Customs Union. This is a community where the participating states agreed to create common interstate bodies that coordinate and coordinate foreign trade policy. Meetings of ministers of the relevant departments are held periodically, whose work is entirely based on the permanently functioning interstate secretariat. A customs union is a form of integration between countries and the creation of supranational bodies. And it was another step towards integration into a more advanced form from the already existing free trade area. In 2015, a new organization, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), began its work on the basis of the Customs Union.

Examples

In the nineteenth century, the German Customs Union was created, where the German states agreed to abolish customs barriers between their countries, and duties went to a common cash desk, where they were distributed among the participating countries according to the number of inhabitants. Probably, the German Customs Union is the first dress rehearsal for the creation of the European Customs Union, which is now functioning. The Eurasian Economic Union also joined forces on the problem of integration of the community's territories. This is a fusion of interstate forms of trade and economy between Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan. Basically, it is this union that will be discussed in this article. In addition to those listed, there were at different times the customs unions of South African, East African (as a community), Mercosur, Andean Community and some others.

In October 2006 in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) an agreement on trade integration between Kazakhstan, Belarus and Russia was signed and the technical regulations of the Customs Union were developed. The purpose of such an organization was the creation of a single customs territory, which consists of several states. The rules of the Customs Union abolished duties on products sold. At the same time, this step made it possible to protect our own markets from excess imports and smoothed out all the irregularities in the trade and economic sphere. Uniform requirements of the Customs Union and a single customs tariff for all have been created within the participating countries. The same prescription regulated trade relations with other countries that were not members of the Customs Union. It was necessary.

Story

The same agreement of 2007 approved not only the technical regulations of the Customs Union, but also the Commission - its single regulatory body. In 2012, the operation of the regulation was completed, and it was replaced by an organization even more powerful, which had an order of magnitude more powers, and its staff was also significantly increased. This is the EEC - the Eurasian Economic Commission. The Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation constituted the entity on the basis of the Eurasian Economic Community. A unified structure of technical regulation was simply necessary. It was the Commission that developed the unified register of the Customs Union and approved its rules. It also has the prerogative of developing technical regulations.

The unified register concerns the bodies of certification of the Customs Union and its testing laboratories. This is a list of entities that issue certificates that guarantee the safety of this product. There is no need to confirm such a document anywhere on the territory of the CU countries. The CU Commission is the coordinator of all actions and all efforts of the participating countries on technical regulation, under whose control is all the activities of the Customs Union. National technical regulations ceased to be valid from the moment the Commission was created and the unified CU regulations were developed by it. Members of the Customs Union agreed that a single customs territory, where customs duties are not applied and there are no economic restrictions, may have exceptions - these are special protective, anti-dumping and countervailing measures.

Structure

Uniform regulatory measures are applied throughout the territory of the member states: the customs tariff within the CU and the rules for trade with other countries. Compliance with the rules is monitored by the Interstate Council, which is the supreme body of the CU and which includes the heads of government and heads of state of all CU countries. In 2007, these were the President of the Russian Federation D. Medvedev and the head of the Government of the Russian Federation V. Putin, the President of the Republic of Belarus A. Lukashenko and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus S. Sidorsky, the President of Kazakhstan N. Nazarbayev and the Prime Minister K. Massimov. Since 2008, the Interstate Council of the EurAsEC (VOTS) has become the supreme body of the CU at the level of only the heads of state of the participating countries.

The only regulatory body, the CU Commission, ensured the conditions for the work and development of the CU, whose decisions are binding and do not require any confirmation at the national level. The states of the Customs Union have divided their influence on the solution of all issues raised in this way: Russia has fifty-seven votes in the Commission, and Kazakhstan and Belarus have twenty-one votes each. All decisions are made if two-thirds of the votes are collected. In 2009, S. Glazyev was appointed Executive Secretary of the Commission of the Customs Union. If disputes arise between the participating countries, they are resolved by a special court of the EurAsEC, where it is possible to achieve a change in the actions of the CU bodies and the state authorities of the association.

Activities of the Customs Union

In 2009, the Commission, the supreme body of the CU, together with the governments of the parties, carried out a set of measures to complete the formation of the contractual and legal framework of the CU. This included the Common Customs Tariff, the Customs Code, and the Statute of the Customs Union Court. In November 2009, a decision was made regarding a single customs tariff among the countries included in the Customs Union. Customs duties in trade between these countries have been adjusted since CCT - the Common Customs Tariff - came into force. In 2010, a summit was held where a statement was signed on the effectiveness of the Customs Code, which began to work in July 2010. A number of provisions of the Unified Customs Code have no legal analogy in the laws of the member states of the Customs Union.

For example, there is no concept of a Common Customs Territory, no conditions are stipulated regarding customs transit. Also, the CU Code abolished customs clearance and customs border control of all goods that originate from the territories of the CU member states, in addition, this also applies to goods of other countries that are in free circulation on the territory of the CU. The Code provides for the requirements of the Customs Union - reciprocity in the recognition of measures to ensure the payment of payments in all territories of the Customs Union. The institution of an economic operator was introduced - a person who has the right to use various simplifications that can be implemented in customs procedures.

Trade

In September 2010, the Customs Union introduced a regime on its territories that credits and distributes customs duties. Tripartite agreements agreed that imports are credited to a certain single account, in order to then be proportionally distributed between the budgets of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. For example, the Russian budget receives 87.97% of the total volume of import duties, the Belarusian budget - 4.7%, and the Kazakh budget - 7.33%. In 2011, customs authorities ceased control at all internal borders of the Customs Union.

The CU action plan was approved by the three participating states, and, according to the plan, the Russian customs authorities stopped any operations regarding vehicles and goods that follow our territory. Previously, control was carried out at all checkpoints on the state border of the Russian Federation. And the Russian-Belarusian border at the PPU (point of acceptance of notifications) stopped all transit control operations from third countries.

The control

The Security Regulations of the Customs Union of 2010 provided for the introduction of a transitional period on the border between Russia and Kazakhstan, when border checkpoints will still function, exercising control - both border and migration, and goods and vehicles that follow on the territory of the CU are still carried out by joint customs services of the participating countries. The special services of the three countries must exchange all information regarding each consignment that is issued on their territory. In 2010, the authorities were already counting on the creation of a single economic space in all territories, since this is the surest step towards creating a common market.

The customs union is gradually replenished, and all member countries continue to apply, in addition to common customs tariffs, many other measures, including the regulation of trade with third countries. The states that joined the Customs Union: Kazakhstan and Russia - from July 1, 2010, the Republic of Belarus - in five days, Armenia - January 2, 2015, Kyrgyzstan - August 12, 2015. There were also candidates - Syria would have already joined the CU if the war that had not unleashed on its territory had not been unleashed on its territory (however, perhaps this intention was one of the reasons for its unleashing), and in January 2015 Tunisia announced its intention to join the CU.

Some general information

The export of goods was accompanied by a zero VAT rate or exemption from excise duty (reimbursement of the amount already paid), if the fact of export was documented. Imports of goods to Russia from two other CU member countries were accompanied by VAT and excises. If services were provided or work was carried out on the territory of Russia, then the tax base, rates, tax benefits and the collection procedure were determined in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

After 2015, international obligations within the framework of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space imposed the following import customs duties: the budget of the Russian Federation receives 85.33%, the budget of Belarus - 4.55%, Kazakhstan - 7.11%, Armenia - 1.11% and Kyrgyzstan - 1.9%. Labor migrants - citizens of the CU member states - no longer have to buy a patent to get a job in the Russian Federation, since they have the same right to work as Russian citizens.

Meaning

Back in 2011, being the executive secretary of the CU Commission, Sergey Glazyev cited the undeniable benefits of creating the Customs Union - both in economic and geopolitical aspects. After the degradation and collapse of the Soviet Union, after decades of economic impoverishment and all sorts of hardships, the former Soviet republics began to integrate, and this is a geopolitical achievement of tremendous importance, the only one capable of providing concrete benefits to the economy of each state.

In 2012, an integration study was conducted by the Eurasian Development Bank. The sociological survey was conducted in ten CIS countries and additionally in Georgia, where up to two thousand respondents took part in each of the countries. There was only one question: the attitude towards the creation of the Customs Union, which exempted trade within three countries (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) from duties. Kazakhs welcomed the Customs Union in 80% of cases, Tajiks - 76%, in Russia 72% of respondents reacted positively, in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan - 67%, in Moldova - 65%, in Armenia - 61%, in Belarus - 60%, Azerbaijan - 38%, and in Georgia - 30%.

Problems

Criticism of the TC has always existed. Most often, it was reduced to the topic of insufficient elaboration of the conditions for certification of goods and trade, it was also said that the Russian Federation imposed WTO conditions on the countries participating in this organization, although they did not join this organization. Some experts lamented about the unfair distribution of income among the participants. However, none of them could prove with their research that the Customs Union is not a very profitable project for both participants and potential members. On the contrary, a huge number of meticulously conducted studies consistently and on all counts prove that the EAEU is unequivocally beneficial to all its members, both for economic and ideological reasons.

Some experts note that the ideological component outweighs the economic one, since this union is an artificial formation, and therefore cannot be viable and exists so far only because it is ideologically beneficial for Russia, and it sponsors the participants. However, accusations of unfair division of income and the topic of sponsorship coexist very badly. It's either this or that. Judging by economic calculations, membership in the EAEU is beneficial for Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Armenia.

Today

Today, the Eurasian Economic Union is no less active than in any of the past moments of the existence of the CU. By decisions of the Commission, more and more new programs for the development of relations between the participating countries are discussed. For example, an advisory committee dealing with oil and gas has been created and is working, which forms a common gas market within the borders of the EAEU. And this is perhaps the most important priority of integration cooperation, which included a whole range of various activities - technological, organizational, legal (more than thirty events in total). In 2016, the heads of state of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Armenia already approved the concept of work to form a common gas market. It remains to work out an international agreement with uniform rules for access to gas transport systems located on the territories of these states.

A common market for road transport services is developing, the competitiveness of international transport is increasing, customs regulation and insurance have been improved to a large extent. Despite the fact that between the participating countries, foreign economic relations are provided by all existing modes of transport, the share of automobiles in it is more than 82 percent of the total volume of cargo transportation, and passenger - 94 percent. And these percentages are still growing. A common market for air transport services is also being formed, and this topic was discussed in detail by the advisory committee in Minsk at the end of April 2017. A draft of the so-called road map is being prepared, which is the implementation of the main directions of transport policy.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an international integration economic association (union), the agreement on the establishment of which was signed on May 29, 2014 and comes into force on January 1, 2015. The union included Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus. The EAEU was created on the basis of the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) to strengthen the economies of the participating countries and "rapprochement with each other", to modernize and increase the competitiveness of the participating countries in the world market. The EAEU member states plan to continue economic integration in the coming years.

The history of the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union

In 1995, the presidents of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and later the acceding states - Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan signed the first agreements on the creation of the Customs Union. Based on these agreements, the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) was created in 2000.

On October 6, 2007 in Dushanbe (Tajikistan) Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia signed an agreement on the creation of a single customs territory and the Customs Union Commission as a single permanent governing body of the Customs Union.

The Eurasian Customs Union or the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia was born on January 1, 2010. The customs union was launched as a first step towards the formation of a broader European Union type of economic union of the former Soviet republics.

The establishment of the Eurasian Customs Union was guaranteed by 3 different treaties signed in 1995, 1999 and 2007. The first treaty in 1995 guaranteed its creation, the second in 1999 guaranteed its formation, and the third in 2007 announced the creation of a single customs territory and the formation of a customs union.

Access of products to the territory of the Customs Union was provided after checking these products for compliance with the requirements of the technical regulations of the Customs Union, which are applicable to these products. As of December 2012, 31 Technical Regulations of the Customs Union have been developed, which cover various types of products, some of which have already entered into force, and some will enter into force before 2015. Some technical regulations are yet to be developed.

Before the Technical Regulations entered into force, the following rules were the basis for access to the market of the member countries of the Customs Union:

1. National certificate - for product access to the market of the country where this certificate was issued.

2. Certificate of the Customs Union - a certificate issued in accordance with the "List of products subject to mandatory assessment (confirmation) of conformity within the framework of the Customs Union", - such a certificate is valid in all three member countries of the Customs Union.

Since November 19, 2011, the member states have implemented the work of the joint commission (Eurasian Economic Commission) to strengthen closer economic ties to create the Eurasian Economic Union by 2015.

On January 1, 2012, the three states formed the Common Economic Space to promote further economic integration. All three countries have ratified the basic package of 17 agreements governing the launch of the Common Economic Space (CES).

May 29, 2014 in Astana (Kazakhstan) signed an agreement on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union.

On January 1, 2015, the EAEU began to function as part of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. On January 2, 2015, Armenia became a member of the EAEU. Kyrgyzstan announced its intention to participate in the EAEU.

Economy of the Eurasian Economic Union

The macroeconomic effect of the integration of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan into the EAEU is created by:

Reducing the prices of goods, due to a decrease in the cost of transporting raw materials or exporting finished products.

Stimulation of "healthy" competition in the common market of the EAEU due to an equal level of economic development.

Increasing competition in the common market of the Customs Union member countries due to the entry of new countries into the market.

An increase in average wages due to cost reduction and increased labor productivity.

Increasing production due to increased demand for goods.

Increasing the well-being of the peoples of the EAEU countries, due to lower food prices and an increase in employment.

Increasing the payback of new technologies and products due to the increased market size.

At the same time, the signed version of the agreement on the creation of the EAEU was of a compromise nature, and therefore a number of planned measures were not implemented in full. In particular, the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) and the Eurasian Economic Court have not received broad powers to control compliance with the agreements. If the EEC resolutions are not implemented, the disputed issue is considered by the Eurasian Economic Court, whose decisions are only advisory in nature, and the issue is finally resolved at the level of the Council of Heads of State. In addition, topical issues on the creation of a single financial regulator, on the policy in the field of energy trade, as well as on the problem of the existence of exemptions and restrictions in trade between the EAEU participants were postponed until 2025 or indefinitely.

Characteristics of the EAEU countries (as of 2014)

Countries	Population, million people	Size of real GDP, billion US dollars	Size of GDP per capita, thousand US dollars	Inflation, %	Unemployment rate, %	Trade balance, USD billion
Russia	142.5	2057.0	14.4	7.8	5.2	189.8
Belarus	9.6	77.2	8.0	18.3	0.7	-2.6
Kazakhstan	17.9	225.6	12.6	6.6	5.0	36.7

Source - CIA World Factbook

Governing bodies of the Eurasian Economic Union

The governing bodies of the EAEU are the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council and the Eurasian Economic Commission.

The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is the supreme supranational body of the EAEU. The council includes heads of state and government. The Supreme Council meets at the level of heads of state at least once a year, at the level of heads of government - at least twice a year. Decisions are made by consensus. The adopted decisions become binding for implementation in all participating States. The Council determines the composition and powers of other regulatory structures.

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) is one permanent regulatory body (supranational governing body) in the EAEU. The main task of the EEC is to provide conditions for the development and functioning of the EAEU, as well as the development of initiatives for economic integration within the EAEU.

The powers of the Eurasian Economic Commission are defined in Article 3 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Commission dated November 18, 2010. All rights and functions of the previously existing Commission of the Customs Union have been delegated to the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Within the competence of the Commission:

customs tariffs and non-tariff regulation;
customs administration;
technical regulation;
sanitary, veterinary and phytosanitary measures;
enrollment and distribution of import customs duties;
establishment of trade regimes with third countries;
statistics of foreign and domestic trade;
macroeconomic policy;
competition policy;
industrial and agricultural subsidies;
energy policy;
natural monopolies;
state and municipal purchases;
domestic service trade and investment;
transport and transportation;
monetary policy;
intellectual property and copyright;
migration policy;
financial markets (banking, insurance, currency and stock markets);
and some other areas.

The Commission ensures the implementation of international treaties that make up the legal framework of the Eurasian Economic Union.

The Commission is also the depository of international treaties that formed the legal basis of the CU and CES, and now the EAEU, as well as decisions of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council.

Within its competence, the Commission adopts non-binding documents, such as recommendations, and can also make decisions that are binding in the EAEU member countries.

The budget of the Commission is made up of the contributions of the Member States and is approved by the Heads of the EAEU Member States.

Possible new members of the Eurasian Economic Union

The main contenders for joining the EAEU are Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. In July 2014, news broke that Armenia would sign an agreement on joining the Eurasian Economic Union before September 10, 2014. There is information that negotiations between Armenia and the founding countries of the EAEU and the Eurasian Economic Commission have been completed. The agreement on the accession of Armenia to the EAEU is in the governments of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, where it is undergoing the necessary bureaucratic stages, and after the decision of the governments, the question of the place where the presidents of Armenia and the EAEU countries will meet to sign the agreement will be raised.

It is also reported that Kyrgyzstan may soon join the EAEU member countries. However, no specific deadlines have been set for this country's accession to the EAEU so far (previously, the date was announced - until the end of 2014). In addition, the population of the country, apparently, is not particularly eager to join the EAEU. This conclusion can be drawn based on civic activity in collecting signatures for a petition in support of Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Customs Union and the EAEU. To date, only 38 people have signed the appeal.

Russians are also suspicious of Kyrgyzstan's possible accession to the Eurasian Economic Union. This is evidenced by the results of a survey conducted by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM). According to researchers, only 20% of those polled were in favor of joining the union of Kyrgyzstan, the same number of votes for Moldova. The most desirable country that the Russians would like to see as allies turned out to be Armenia. 45% of respondents voted for it.

Azerbaijan and Moldova are waiting for every fifth person in the EAEU (23% and 20% respectively). Only 17% of survey participants are in favor of joining the EAEU of Uzbekistan, while Tajikistan and Georgia - 14% each. Respondents spoke least of all in favor of attracting Ukraine to the Eurasian Economic Union - 10%. And 13% of respondents believe that the EAEU should not be expanded yet.

Poll of public opinion in the CIS regarding integration

Since 2012, the Eurasian Development Bank (established in Russia and Kazakhstan) has been conducting a regular survey of the opinions of residents of individual states regarding Eurasian integration projects. The following question was asked to residents of individual countries: “Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia united in the Customs Union, which freed trade between the three countries from duties, and created the Common Economic Space (in fact, the single market of the three countries). How do you feel about this decision?

The results of the answers "profitable" and "very profitable" are given below:

As you can see, the idea of creating the Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Union as a whole is approved and looks “beneficial” in the eyes of the majority of the population of almost everyone, with the exception of Azerbaijan, the CIS countries and even Georgia.

Meanwhile, the United States in its foreign policy opposes the Customs Union and the EAEU, arguing that this is an attempt to restore Russian dominance in the post-Soviet space and create a union like the USSR.

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