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The situation with sanctions is boosting integration processes, activating the EAEU's internal resources and moving the Union’s cooperation with the CIS and the Union State to a qualitatively new stage. This was stated on June 16 by Sergei Glazyev, Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, at the topic-specific session "Integration for Development: New Horizons" of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

"This year, we observe an explosive growth in trade between the EAEU and the CIS states that are non-members of the EAEU (60%, in 2021 – 30%); though, its share in the Union's foreign trade turnover is not sufficient enough and does not provide the necessary interconnection of economies. This testifies to the availability of reserves in conditions when Europe has actually erected barriers in the commodity market. We can efficiently compensate for broken cooperation chains with the EU by creating conditions for building up intra-union cooperation to fill the gigantic commodity niche that emerged after European companies left Russian and Belorussian markets. There is a possibility of increasing the product output by more than one and a half times," Sergei Glazyev noted.

He also pointed out a number of bottlenecks. First of all, we need to create new investment lending institutions intended to expand mutual trade and intra-union cooperation and increase the development institutions' capacity. The second is the financial market. "It is important to intensify the transition to national currencies, settlements in which can grow up to 80-85% this year," the EEC Minister stated, "We have a much more difficult task for our product space – to form our own stable pricing system protected from external manipulation."

Sergei Glazyev informed about presenting in the near future the concept for forming the common EAEU exchange market, which, in particular, would involve the unification of exchanges' information systems and the nomination of prices in national currencies. "The agenda includes the transition to a new stable settlement currency based on a basket of national currencies and exchange-traded products, as well as the creation of our own stable pricing system. Such principles should be applied in work not only within the EAEU but also throughout the SCO," the EEC Minister concluded.

Sergei Glazyev also noted that the Commission managed to create an infrastructure for dialogue with key organizations in the region – the CIS, the SCO and the Union State of Belarus and Russia. "It is important to further develop dialogue, elaborate common approaches to solving emerging problems, exchange experience and best integration practices, jointly develop and implement targeted programs and high-tech projects," Sergei Glazyev emphasized.