Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012

Customs Unionand the Single Economic Spacethe “intellectual” side of the issue. The preparation of the SES Blueprint andAgreement were not viewed as traditional interstate negotiations where theycould bargain over their positions or concessions. The objective was to preparea comprehensive and viable project that could be implemented, given theexistence of political will as a matter of course.This was a revolutionary document for the post-Soviet area. It provided for thecreation of a supranational body, the transfer of a part of national authority to itand the adoption of decisions subject to the economic weight of the states. Allthese are universal laws and principles of integration, which were at this pointacknowledged for the first time by post-Soviet states.The SES Agreement was signed and ratified in 2003 and although Ukraine laterwithdrew from it, the remaining three participants continued to fulfil it. Thisprocess could have continued until now if the global financial crisis had nottaken place. When all countries in the world began to look for mechanisms tominimise its consequences in 2008, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan saw theconsolidation of economic effects and deep economic integration as one of thepossible tools.Therefore, we should “thank” the global economic crisis for the successfuldevelopment of integration over the past four years. It was the crisis thatmade these countries able to understand the significance and necessity ofintegration.The CU of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia was formed on the existing base (ina rather accelerated fashion) on January 1, 2010. This was an unexpected turnof events for many people, including those abroad. This was not because timelyinformation had been unavailable, quite the opposite – there had been manytalks at different levels but no one had believed them. As a quick reminder,the creation of the CU had been in discussion since early 1990s and everyonetended to see these talks as traditional political statements or wasted words thatwould not bring about any real results.Therefore, when this idea finally materialised many people were surprisedat the appearance of a new formation. We should do justice to our foreignpartners who regarded this process with understanding, recognised itsconformance to global economic trends and acknowledged that it did notcontradict in any manner to the standards and principles of the World TradeOrganisation (WTO). I would like to specifically point out that Russia wasadmitted as a member of the WTO after it had become a member of the CU.It is obviously not only the evaluation of Russia’s efforts to harmonise its lawswith the requirements of the WTO but also the recognition of the fact thatthe CU is a structure which meets the requirements of global economy. Afterjoining the WTO, Russia’s tariff obligations will become mandatory for thewhole territory of the CU. As a result of this, the states signed a special44 EDB Eurasian Integration Yearbook 2012