Eurasian Economic Union replaces Eurasian Economic Community

The Eurasian Economic Community of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (EAEC) ceases formally its existence on Friday. The community, organized on October 10, 2010, will wind up at a summit in Minsk, where leaders of these countries, including Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, will discuss further integration.
Russia’s presidential aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters “On January 1, 2015 EAEC will be replaced by the Eurasian Economic Union.”
EAEC “has a large-scale legal base (215 agreements) for multilateral trade and economic cooperation, which offered a base for development of Eurasian integration.”

Back in 1994, Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev voiced the ideal of Eurasian integration, but it was not supported by other CIS countries. On January 6, 1995, Russia and Belarus signed an agreement on the Customs Union. Later on, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan joined the Customs Union. In 1999, the countries entered an agreement on the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space, and on October 10, 2000 - an agreement on organisation of EAEC.
In August 2006, EAEC countries decided to organise from 2010 the Customs Union, which uses in mutual trade a single customs tariff, and on November 27, 2009, presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan reached a decision to develop deeper the economic integration and to move towards the Common Economic Space. On May 29, 2014 presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus inked an agreement on organisation of the Eurasian Economic Union from January 1, 2015. Kyrgyzstan and Armenia have announced they would like to join the Union.
The upcoming summit will also discuss consequences from Ukraine’s association with the European Union.
“The Russian Federation, Kazakhstan and Belarus share the view that the association agreement will influence negatively the trade and economic relations with Ukraine,” the presidential aide said.