News

Esteemed Colleagues and Friends! I am wholeheartedly wishing you a very happy 2023 to come! The pre-New Year period is the time of reviewing progress, having joyful expectations, discussing new plans. 2022 has become an important milestone in the development history of our integration association. We celebrated the first significant anniversary of the Eurasian Economic Commission – it is now 10 years old. 

Our integration association continued its consistent work in the context of a volatile global market environment and unfavorable political conditions in the world. The Commission together with the Eurasian Economic Union countries as the Kyrgyz Republic presided over the Union's governing bodies took timely, effective steps allowing not only to stabilize the macroeconomic situation in our countries but also to improve a range of development indicators and stimulate growth in the key economic sectors. 

We continue to work for the benefit of people in our countries and in the interests of improving the living standard of citizens. It is largely due to the measures taken that this year the unemployment level in the EAEU has decreased very noticeably and amounts to no more than 2% of the workforce in our countries. The inflation processes this year have been kept within reason, the Union's single market enjoys uninterrupted trade in all essentials, energy tariffs in our countries are several times lower than in the West. 

Over the first nine months of 2022 production of agricultural goods in the Union amounted to around 140 bln US dollars, having increased by over 5% compared to the same period last year. This is a quite significant growth. Industrial production increased, too: by November this year it reached 1.3 tln US dollars. The amount of construction works performed and investment made in fixed assets increased by about 5%.

With the Commission playing a coordinating role, the EAEU Member States continued to develop their industrial cooperation. For the first time in the EEC history, an effective mechanism for financing projects in this field has been developed and is being launched. It will help to efficiently promote business initiatives, significantly increase mutual investments between countries, increase the number of jobs, increase the sustainability of industrial complexes, etc. 

This year the Eurasian Economic Union has entered a new stage of integration development as joint investment activities commenced. As for implementing joint import substitution projects, in 2022 the Commission has updated the industrialization map of the EAEU supplementing it with 11 projects in a range of industries in the Republic of Belarus and the Kyrgyz Republic. The current map version encompasses 158 projects in 25 industries totaling 270 bln US dollars.

This year we have taken fundamental decisions to eliminate remaining customs and administrative barriers and sped up the work on transitioning to national currencies in mutual trade settlements. As of year-end 2022, the share of settlements in the EAEU national currencies reached around 80%. In 2022, we have removed five barriers and three obstacles having signs of barriers. Let me remind that in October heads of governments of our countries agreed to eliminate the remaining 11 barriers by the end of Q1 2023.

It is worth noting the implementation of the Eurasian Agroexpress joint project aimed at performing expedite rail and multimodal transportation of agricultural and food products. As part of the project, 482 ths tons of cargo were transported over the first 10 months of the year. The Eurasian reinsurance company tasked with reinsuring export credits and investments from entrepreneurial and political risks in the EAEU and third countries will start its work in 2023.

The world is expressing a growing interest in the EAEU. Agreements were concluded with the SCO Secretariat, the work on Free Trade Area Agreements with Iran and Egypt is in its active phase, there are positive advances in negotiations with India. We consider these agreements as one of the key elements of involving EAEU producers in building global supply chains and integrating them into world trade. 

Every year, the integration ties between our countries get stronger and our economic results improve. In January–October this year, mutual trade in the EAEU grew by 12.8% compared to the same period last year. I am confident that this is a consequence of our work on a fundamentally new basis that is different from what many other integration associations in the world have. We have built the interaction of our five independent states on the principles of equality, equal representation, consensus decision-making. 

I thank representatives of national governments, authorized state authorities of the Union countries, business and science together with whom we ensure incremental advances. I extend my special gratitude to the heads of state and government and EEC Council Members for their great personal contribution to developing the Eurasian integration.

We see that our Union develops steadily and this is a considerable personal merit of each of the EEC employees, from ordinary specialists to department Directors and Ministers. In 2022, a total of more than 820 Union documents was adopted.

Together, we still have much to do. Next year, the EAEU governing bodies will be presided by the Russian Federation. Our common top priority objectives include strengthening technological sovereignty of our countries, continued efforts focused on joint introduction of information technologies, development of scientific and educational programs, active involvement of youth into the Eurasian integration agenda, extension of international contacts. 

May all our dreams and hopes come true in the new year! I sincerely wish everyone happiness and well-being, as well as further success and prosperity to our Eurasian Economic Union. Happy New Year!

Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the EEC Board