Eurasian Economic Union - Time for Modernization

Abstract

The article analyzes the five-year period for the implementation of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and highlights the main problems of its development at the present stage. Among them there are external pressure on the EAEU from major economic agents (China) and regional economic partnerships (European Union), which leads to erosion of the Eurasian integration processes. The interaction of the EAEU partners has a negative impact on the strengthening of Western sanctions against Russia. Domestic disintegration factors are the low share of mutual trade and investment, the lack of tangible progress in the formation of common sectoral markets, the rapid growth of new non-tariff barriers and exceptions to the general rules of trade, the growth in the number of trade and currency conflicts. A serious problem is the weakening of the potential of Russia as a driver of economic integration in the EAEU. First of all, it concerns the level of innovativeness of the economy, which is the most important attractive factor in the conditions of the fourth industrial revolution. Tax and investment competition within jurisdictions within the EEU is increasing, which leads to the migration of Russian business to Kazakhstan and Belarus. In this regard, the article raises the question of a significant adjustment of the model of integration in the EAEU. New initiatives and actions are proposed, which should give a tangible effect on the existence of the EAEU for the population and business. We are talking about reorienting economic integration towards the consumer, stimulating informal integration, which should become the basis for strengthening formal integration at the macro level, developing a joint program to develop technologies of the fourth industrial revolution “Make in EAEU 2030” for structural and technological modernization of the economies of the EAEU countries, in which all states of the Union are interested.