Russia ratifies Eurasian Economic Union with Kazakhstan and Belarus

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, signed a law that commits the country to the Eurasian Economic Union. The agreement comes into force on the first of January 2015 creating an economic union among Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

Belarus and Kazakhstan are expected to ratify the treaty within a few days. The process of forming the union has been going on for some time with a customs union already being in place. The union will create a common market serving 170 million people. Although each country will keep its own currency, the ruble will be the union's de facto currency. The three countries will cooperate in the areas of energy, transport,, industry, and also agriculture. Union headquarters will be in Moscow with courts in Minsk, the capital of Belarus. Almaty, Kazakhstan will be the site of the financial regulatory agency. Citizens of the three countries will be able to work in any of the member states without a work permit.
In just the last three years trade within the three countries, who had a customs union, increased by nearly 50 percent to $66.2 billion at the end of 2013. Only the EU and China have greater trade with Russia than the Customs Union members. Presidents of all three countries are scheduled to meet in Minsk to exchange ratification documents on October 10. Armenia is also planning to join the union soon. Negotiations and agreements for closer economic ties between a number of ex-Soviet republics have been ongoing since at least 1995.
The Customs union between Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus came into effect back in January 1, 2010. The agreement eliminated any tariffs between the three countries, created a common external tariff policy and also did away with non-tariff barriers to trade. The Eurasian Economic Union agreement was negotiated on May 29 this year. The presidents of Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan were also present at the original signing. At the time President Putin said: "Today we are creating a powerful, attractive center of economic development, a big regional market that unites more than 170 million people." Both Armenia and Kyrgyzstan plan to join by signing an accession treaty by the end of this year. Tajikistan has also expressed interest in joining.