The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is a global economic alliance and free trade area that includes nations in central and northern Asia as well as Eastern Europe. The union was created through a treaty by its founding members, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, in 2014, and the agreement officially took effect on January 1, 2015.
It’s estimated that around 200 million individuals reside in the member countries, and the total GDP of EAEU nations is about $5 trillion.
Learn more about EAEU
The Eurasian Economic Union was established partly as a reaction to the economic and political sway of the European Union (EU) and various other Western trade agreements. The EAEU’s member countries are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. The main goals of this organization are to boost cooperation and economic competitiveness among its members, as well as to promote stable development to improve living standards in these countries.
The EAEU facilitates the free flow of goods, services, labor, and capital across its member states, and it sets common policies in areas like macroeconomics, transport, industry and agriculture, energy, foreign trade and investment, customs, technical regulation, competition, and antitrust laws. Unlike the Eurozone treaty, the EAEU treaty has not yet created a single currency.
The leaders of the EAEU form a governing body called The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, while the executive branch that manages daily operations is known as the Eurasian Economic Commission, which is similar to the European Commission. The EAEU Court acts as the judicial authority.
The History
After the Soviet Union fell apart in 1991, the economies of the former Soviet republics were left in a mess due to years of poor management. Many Eurasian countries faced sudden economic chaos as they tried to adapt to life after the Soviet era. The political split of the Soviet Union also disrupted many productive economic ties between these nations.
But just because the Soviet Union ceased to exist as a political force, it didn’t mean that the historical connections between Russia and the so-called “Near Abroad” disappeared. They could still benefit from trade and economic integration. What was needed were new ways to cooperate economically.
With that in mind, discussions started among the regional states about economic collaboration. In March 1994, Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed the idea of forming a trade alliance during a speech at Moscow State University.
By June 1994, a comprehensive plan for a Eurasian Union was created and presented to the heads of state. In 1995, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed The Treaty on the Customs Union, which laid the foundation for economic cooperation among the member states. Over the following decades, a series of additional treaties further solidified economic ties between the Eurasian countries, all of which had once been part of the Soviet Union.
In December 2010, The Declaration on Establishment of the Single Economic Space of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia was signed, laying the groundwork for the EAEU. This treaty, which took effect in 2012, guaranteed the free movement of goods, services, labor, and capital among the states.
On May 29, 2014, the EAEU was officially formed when founding members Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, which came into effect on January 1, 2015. Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined the EAEU with accession agreements in October 2014 and December respectively.