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The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is a regional association comprised of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. The EAEU is a highly asymmetrical entity with a single dominant power....

This article analyzes how China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has affected the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as a project of regional economic integration. In particular, it examines whether th...

This study examines the effects of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) on global production sharing and trade in parts and components. With a panel dataset of disaggregated bilateral exports of EAEU...

The Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) intersect and overlap in Central Asia at the heart of Eurasia. Whereas the literature has commonly focused ...

Among the numerous Eurasian regional organisations (ROs) founded since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) sticks out as the first comprehensive economic integratio...

After two decades of meagre results in post-Soviet regionalism, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is the first gleam of hope. However, research on the EAEU is mostly Russia-centred and focused on ...

The goal of this paper is to investigate how the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union (and of the Customs Union, its predecessor organisation) affected the way Eurasian countries interact w...

Originally proposed by the former president of Kazakhstan in 1995, Eurasian integration progressed into the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), which was launched in 2015. From an international develop...

Russia initiated the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union and the shaping the all-encompassing Greater Eurasian Partnership. For these geopolitical projects to successfully move forward, Russia ...

In the post-Soviet neighbourhood, the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union both address the common governance challenges, but there has been no institutional-level cooperation between the...

What are the potential gains to the members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) of successful deep integration through the reduction of time in trade costs, the reduction of non-tariff barriers i...

In this article the theory of optimum currency area is applied to post-Soviet and other selected countries. The study finds smaller exchange rate variability when the economies are closely linked b...

In the light of the ‘pairing’ of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU/EAEU), this research finds that China’s planned economic corridors largely comp...

Declared a priority of Moscow’s foreign policy, the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has enjoyed special attention from both Western and Russian specialists. However, the assessments by the two camps...

Regional economic integration in the post-Soviet space stands in a complex relation with the European Union’s integration process. Multiple competing internal logics of integration, as well as the ...

How great is the impact of non-tariff barriers on trade in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and how much will internal trade grow if they are eliminated? The Treaty on the EAEU declares removal o...

The establishment of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in 2010, succeeded by the Eurasian Economic Union in 2015, constituted an important discontinuity in the development of post...

This article is dedicated to the integration and harmonization of the projects Eurasian Economic Union and Economic Zone of the Great Silk Road. It provides an expert characterization of the progra...

In the light of the implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for Greater Eurasia and, in particular, Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries, this paper assesses the prospects of sev...

Russia and China have been pursuing the Eurasian Economic Union and the One Belt, One Road initiative since the early 2010s, employing two distinct sets of practices in their respective influence-building endeavours. Russia is interested in creating an exclusive sphere of influence in the post-Soviet space, in order to bolster its great power status and secure regional primacy. China, in turn, is expanding its economic influence over a vast geographical area disguising economic expansion behind multilateralism. These differences make Sino–Russian competition in Central Asia less plausible.

Understanding cooperation among authoritarian regimes remains a puzzle for researchers; in particular, those working in post-Soviet Eurasia. Research suggests that autocrats are becoming increasingly coordinated in their efforts to thwart democracy, with authoritarian-led regional organizations offering an effective vehicle to extend autocrat time horizons. In contrast, older studies, including insights from failed regional integration among former Soviet states, suggest that the absence of democracy limits cooperation, although in both cases there is a lack of detail on the mechanisms enabling or constraining relations between autocrats. This article addresses this shortcoming by developing a theoretical framework based around autocrat survivability or “regime security” and applying it to the important case of the newly formed Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), drawing on original interview data with experts and stake-holders in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. The argument forwarded in this article is that concerns over regime security create antagonistic cooperation drivers. In the case of the EAEU, regime security provides a strong explanation for the inability of member states to coordinate policy. The implication is that future studies should pay close attention to the way the material and ideational aspects of authoritarian rule combine to drive, but also limit relations between autocrats.

The paper focuses on a series of integration projects and initiatives emerging across the Eurasian continent. China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) or New Silk Road initiative, the ASEAN’s Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TTP) previously led by the U.S., and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) promoted by Russia seem to be unsettling the existing balance of economic and political power between the members and the other indirectly involved countries. The emerging regional initiatives challenge the model established by B. Balassa. The TTP tries to promote new principles of international trade policy by debating with the WTO’s rules and focusing additionally on the protection of foreign direct investment, labour and environmental standards. The OBOR has a clear developmental purpose of industrialization in the countries with a lack of infrastructure. The EEU and the RCEP seemingly follow the traditional European model of integration. The authors compare the...

This review outlines current issues of the pharmacovigilance (PV) system in the Russian Federation, namely the present state of regulatory aspects, regulatory requirements in both Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union, and review of causes of under-reporting of adverse drug reactions. Specific attention will be focused on how the system is designed to monitor drug safety functions, reporting and accountability of pharmaceutical products, their manufacturers and medical staff, the role played by regional centers for drug-safety monitoring, and insufficient understanding of the part taken by patients in the system of PV. The prospects of the Russian PV system and its harmonization with global practice will also be discussed.

On 3 September 2013, the president of Armenia shifted the long-praised process of initialing political association and economic integration with the European Union and announced Armenia’s decision to join the Russia-led Customs Union and participate in the processes of formation of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Practitioners and observers interpreted it either as a U-turn or as a surprise move mainly assuming that what happened was the result of Russian pressure on Armenia. However, when tensions and uncertainty eased, it became obvious that what happened was a result of complex reasons. Geopolitical constraints and socio-political problems that had accumulated in Armenia during recent years coincided with an assertive expansion of Russia’s foreign policy. This research provides a number of explanations for that political decision to understand the primary determinants of that move. It also examines the political and economic implications of Armenia’s membership of the EAEU.

This article analyzes the development prospects and problems for the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It examines issues of integration within the EAEU, as well as interactions with other countries,...

The aim of this paper is to instigate the development of theoretical discourse on contemporary travel writing about the Balkans, especially the works created since the collapse of communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The problematization of this discourse is timely, even more so when the unique heritage of the Balkans has to harmonize with that of the rest of Europe. Travel writing vibrantly mirrors this process, but the critical tools through which it is currently read come primarily from postcolonial theory and necessitate revisiting. Although postcolonialism has facilitated the popularity of the genre in academia, it does not adequately satisfy the discussion of an increasingly more complex cultural phenomenon that is that of the Balkans, which cannot be simplistically framed in terms of the ‘Other’. While the Balkans can still be viewed as the ‘Other’ in connection to Europe, as a political and economic union, they cannot be dismissed as such from a wider cultural, geographical and his...

This article suggests that if one individual owns more than one property, additional annual tax should be levied for subsequent properties. The collected resources would be used toward improving of the region’s social issues.

President Putin is widely portrayed as a threat to peace and to the international order; and Russian intervention in Ukraine and Crimea is often taken as a measure of this aggressive external policy. It is contended that aggression in international affairs has different causes and consequences. The paper examines the crisis posed in Ukraine following the flight of President Yanukovich and the institution of a pro-NATO and pro-European Union government. Russia’s actions are considered in the wider context of the political transformation in Soviet space, the enlargement of the European Union and the expansion of NATO. Russia’s economic and military strengths and weaknesses are outlined against the background of the development of the Eurasian Economic Union. It is contended that Russian policy under President Putin has been defensive and reactive.

First published online: 19 Aug 2016, The present contribution explores the evolution of the Eurasian initiative against the background of a more distant integration project, namely the Russia-Belarus Union State. It demonstrates that in spite of the Eurasian integration project’s more solid economic foundation and constant engagement from Moscow, the former has demonstrated a persistent similarity to the latter. The article looks into the divergence of interests of the Eurasian project participants, which has been exacerbated by the Ukraine crisis. Contrary to the main idea underpinning both the Russia–Belarus and the Eurasian initiatives, their evolution has not led to a full abolition of borders and these have demonstrated a persistent tendency to find their way back into existence., Published online: 19 Aug 2016, info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

The article aims to explain Armenia’s foreign policy shift from its pre-signature of the Association Agreement (AA)/Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with the European Union (EU) in favor of joining the Customs Union (CU)/Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). It uncovers the factors in different policy spheres by examining data and scores, and draws on public opinion to investigate whether it was in sync with the presidential announcement. While Armenia is “swinging on a pendulum,” the study considers the challenges of being a member of the EEU and the repercussions for the country’s relations with the EU.

This paper examines the centrality of the single market to the EU. Its main conclusion is that the single market will remain central to the Union in future and that although it is not immune to crises, because it is the Union’s hard core and has powerful governance, serious erosion is unlikely. The paper examines the centrality of the single market by analysing in-depth the functional logic of market integration and the progress and deficits that characterise the Union’s market regime. The paper then explores the meaning of the internal market for EMU and argues that the single market is the ‘E’ in EMU. The issue of the euro ‘ins’ and ‘outs’ is addressed. The paper ends by asking if the single market is resilient against crises and concludes in the affirmative.

The present chapter is focused on the impact of the global crisis on the process of Eurasian integration. Its main idea is that the Eurasian integration is the response of the former Soviet societies to the crisis of the current capitalist world-system. The paper defines the nature of the current world-system as based on global ‘value chains’. The new Post-Soviet states are seen through the lens of the world-system approach, and treated as a form of peripheral or semi-peripheral societies. Their essence is understood as transferring a part of the incomes created by their populations to the core countries. Neoliberal ideology substantiates this. The world economic crisis revealed the vulnerability of such societies which are especially sensitive to global turbulence. The turmoil generated in Post-Soviet states by the world crisis demonstrated to the public and the elites of Post-Soviet states the failure of the neoliberal agenda. The Eurasian integration of Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus is their ...

In the last several years, both Russia and China have launched ambitious regional projects that are promoted as a means to strengthen linkages with neighbouring states. The Eurasian Economic Union ...

The Dordoi Bazaar, in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, has in the past 15 years become a prime example of the increasing impact of China’s rapid development in this structurally and politically weak post-Soviet state and in relation to its people. Chinese-made consumer goods, worth several billions of US dollars annually, have been re-exported overland via Kyrgyzstan to wholesale and retail clients across Eurasia. However, the hardening of the state border to the north, and particularly following the foundation of a tripartite customs union (CU) including Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus in the same year, has threatened the livelihoods of numerous trade entrepreneurs at the bazaar. Given Kyrgyzstan’s recent accession to the newly formed Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) in May 2015, it makes sense to re-evaluate local representations and future perspectives on China’s powerful commercial expansion into Central Asia. Based on several months of ethnographic fieldwork in Bishkek between 2012 and 2015, this article ...

The research of Eurasian regionalism mostly focuses on the Eurasian core, for example, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, which have been pursuing a more exclusive and closer form of integration – Customs Union/Eurasian Economic Union. Other countries of the post-Soviet space are often described as post-Soviet ‘escapists’ or ‘isolationists’ and mostly discounted in the analyses of the Eurasian regionalism. The paper looks at six post-Soviet states, who opted out from the Eurasian Economic Union, and analyse their interaction with the EEU. The paper argues that despite tensions in relations with Russia, most of these countries are reluctant to entirely disrupt their economic relations with the post-Soviet Eurasia. The paper argues that six countries of the post-Soviet Eurasian periphery effectively pursue policies of a looser form association with the Eurasian core. This finding allows to argue that Eurasian regionalism, similarly to its European model, consists of the core and outer circle. The outer ci...

This article examines the emerging interactions between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Drawing on the theoretical insights of the literature on comparative regionalism, it develops a framework for analysis of how the two organisations relate to one another. The article starts by looking at the commercial dimension of the EAEU–SCO relationship. It focuses on interregional trade and investment and examines the prospect of a free trade area and a currency zone between the two organisations. The second strand of analysis present in this article is the institutionalist one. Here the interaction between the EAEU and the SCO is conceptualised in terms of formal relations between regional organisations as juridical entities. The third strand of analysis draws on the insights of the constructivist school. Here EAEU–SCO relations are seen to be driven above all by intersubjective forces. The final approach to the study of EAEU–SCO relations taken in this ...

This article analyses the political and social discourses towards Eurasian integration in Central Asia. I concentrate on the independent non-Russian political elites and wider popular responses to the integration in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and on the motivations leading these decision makers and societies to Eurasian economic integration. The focus is on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the only Central Asian countries in the Eurasian Economic Union, and on their respective populations. I demonstrate how post-Soviet Kazakhstani and Kyrgyz regimes facilitated ideas and ideals of Eurasianism so closely connected to their own interests in economic and socio-political contexts. The article also aims to reveal the complex web of interests, identities and mobilities of groups and individuals behind the political facade of integration talks in Central Eurasia. In doing so the study focuses on the historical approach and political elite-led discourses combined with the sociological data of social responses to...

The development of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) has been accompanied by intense ideological and political debates. Initially planned as the centrepiece of Vladimir Putin’s third presidential term, the project since his return to office in May 2012 became ensnared in broader global and regional contradictions. Formally launched on 1 January 2015 and now encompassing five members (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia), the EEU in institutional terms has swiftly gained an impressive degree of institutional consolidation but is vulnerable politically. It is intended not as a rival to the European Union but as a complementary association to facilitate the creation of what remain Russia’s two primary goals. These are, first, the reconstitution of elements of post-Soviet Eurasia as a political and economic community and, second, to manage the development of macro-regional blocs, including the creation of a ‘greater Europe’ from the Atlantic to the Pacific and a ‘greater Asia’ from Bru...

This article examines the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) from the perspective of its impact on the deepening of investment cooperation among member countries. It evaluates the mutual investments of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia and identifies issues in those areas. It shows the need for concluding a preferential investment agreement within the future EAEU and for creating a free investment zone that will stimulate the whole system of economic cooperation among member countries, as well as opening up new opportunities for the development of their cooperation with third countries.

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has made incredible strides in becoming an integrated body over the past 10 years, and is becoming part of a broader global process of economic regionalism that is shaping economic competitiveness. This paper applies a SWOT analysis to current and projected EAEU member states, and identifies where the difficulties and opportunities for the EAEU’s member countries will be in improving competitiveness in the coming years. The key conclusions are that the EAEU’s own institutional arrangements may foster competitiveness if it is able to remove some of the barriers to innovation that currently exist in the bloc’s member states.

This article focuses on the developments following World War II that led to the creation of the single currency. It will point out how the initial diverging political and economic positions of France and Germany gradually moved toward a degree of convergence. After the death of President Pompidou, France discarded the approach stressing national sovereignty in monetary affairs that had been a feature of Gaullist foreign policy. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, Germany found that the single currency was not just the natural adjunct of the single market, which, at the time, had been the main argument used to sponsor it: the single currency appeared as a way of anchoring Germany’s future to Europe and thus was instrumental in getting Germany’s European partners, beginning with France, to endorse German reunification. The article examines how monetary union became divorced from the economic union that was supposed to accompany it. It looks at the way the monetary union has led to the adoption of def...

Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan formed the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in order to create a single market. Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan all approximately doubled their average external tariffs, which were the Russian tariff, resulting in substantial transfers to Russia. Estimates show, however, that substantial progress in trade facilitation and reducing nontariff barriers could make the EAEU positive for all members. Moreover, the right to work for migrants or security arrangements with Russia may be the dominant issue for Armenia and the Kyrgyz Republic. So far, however, the EAEU has made little progress on reducing nontariff barriers or trade facilitation.

The article expands the debate about the interaction and conflict of linguistic commodification with other values attached to a language. It interrogates Russian dominant discourse produced between 2010 and 2015, focusing on how it attributes the values of ‘pride’ and ‘profit’ to the Russian language in three transnational contexts: the narrative of ‘compatriots’ outside Russia, the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. It argues that the discursive construction of Russian as a means for material advancement is constantly intertwined with manufacturing the transnational semantics of belonging to Russia (the transnational ‘pride’). This is often overlaid with the instrumental value-attribution for Russian for establishing and perpetuating power relations, exerting control and, finally, warmongering.

A European scholar explores the changing dynamics of integration processes within the Eurasian Customs/Economic Union in the new context created by the Ukraine crisis. The article examines positions adopted by member states Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus before and after onset of the crisis in Ukraine. Several rationales for justifying the Union are derived from international relations theory and documented in the rhetoric of actors from these three countries. The evolution of conflicting rhetorical postures mirrors a slowdown of the Eurasian integration process and growth in the bargaining leverage of Belarus and Kazakhstan vis-a-vis Moscow., This work was supported by the Fundacao Ciencia e Tecnologia [grant number SFRH/BPD/63834/2009]., info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Differential pricing has been considered extensively for its potential to increase access to medicines in low- and middle-income countries. A differential pricing system applied within an economic union (such as the European Union [EU]) comprising high-income and middle-income countries would also increase access and provide stronger incentives to invest in the R&D of innovative medicines. Access to innovative medicines is limited in EU markets with relatively low GDP per capita, indicating that the current pricing system does not promote efficient access. This article looks at how theory could be put into practice suggesting ways to implement a differential pricing system in the EU that can enhance overall welfare.

Several studies have been published about Eurasian integration. Most of them, however, have a very narrow scope and look mostly at the Eurasian Economic Union, its institutions, internal politics a...

Eurasian integration is a relatively new phenomenon. many studies consider the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) as an anti-Western block, whereas this book gives a different perspective. It highlights...

The Treaty of Rome vowed for the creation of common markets of goods, workers, services and capital within EEC. Besides, the creation of common transport and agricultural policy were also part of its objective. It is the matter of fact that the free movement of goods, services and persons cannot be realized without the common transport policy. Hence, one of the activities of EC in embracing the economic union is the adoption of the common policy in the sphere of transport as apparent from Art 3(f) of the EC Treaty . However, this task of adopting and implementing the common transport policy has not been an easy task for European Union to achieve.

Media reports alleged in late 2012 that South Africa was treating Lesotho ‘worse than … under apartheid’. To test that premise, this article contrasts Lesotho's regional and bilateral interactions during the colonial and apartheid eras with present relationships. It reviews bilateral and regional factors that impact Lesotho, emphasising Lesotho's roles in the Southern African Customs Union, the Common Monetary Area, and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as diverse bilateral transactions with South Africa. Lesotho's experiences with SADC economic, political and security operations are evaluated. Whether a mutually beneficial relationship with South Africa is replacing the prior hegemonic pattern is questioned, especially after the peaceful transfer of power in 2012 to Lesotho's opposition parties. Dual citizenship, open borders, an economic union and even the remote possibility of political fusion are discussed. Finally, the article addresses how Basotho view border issues, why they...

An all inclusive African Economic Union has been a longstanding objective of many in Africa and the United Nations. While some modest achievements have been realised, the long-held goal of effectively integrating Africa economically remains elusive. Against the backdrop of Africa's place in the world economy and the formation through recent history of African regional economic communities, this article assesses the major impediments to a continent-wide economic integration. It is the contention of this paper that effective economic integration has been hindered by regional overlapping, varying degrees of integration progress, and fragmentation due to competing interests. Before the article concludes, possible scenarios for the future are discussed.