Valdai Club

On October 25 in Moscow, prime ministers of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member states, Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tigran Sargsyan and Prime Minister of Serbia Ana Brnabic signed a Free Trade Agreement between Serbia and the EAEU. On October 27, a “temporary” free trade zone was launched between Iran and the EAEU.

Five years into its existence, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) already has something to show. The most tangible of its achievements is the common labor market and customs territory. At the same time, the EAEU is still experiencing problems with free trade in the domestic market due to the persistent difficulties with removing the non-tariff barriers and the emergence of new ones.

Regional integration projects have been picking up steam across the African continent since 2017 with the renewed African Union (AU), a complex trade, economic, military and political bloc of 55 African countries, at the center of these processes.

The dream of a common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok was first formulated nearly a century ago and enjoys broad support in the business communities of Europe and Eurasia. However, the crisis in Ukraine and the tension concerning Russia’s relations with some Western countries are hindering the development of ties between the European Union (EU) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Disappointed with the West, Moscow has ever more rapidly been looking towards the East, boosting cooperation with China and other Asian countries.

During the first five years of its existence, the EAEU became an indisputable economic reality in Eurasia. Despite the international pressure and relative youth of the Union, it is bringing concrete benefits to the member states. Generally speaking, two of the so-called "four freedoms" of movement described in integration theory have already been implemented.

On April 30, the heads of government of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) convened in Yerevan for a regular meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (EMPS). There, they achieved the resolution of important issues concerning the future development of the Union, most notably, the elimination of various barriers within the Union’s internal market.