The trends and prospects for social and economic development of the Eurasian Economic Union Member States in 2022 along with macro-economic policy measures were discussed by members of the Advisory Committee on Macroeconomic Policy of the Eurasian Economic Commission. The meeting was held on June 2 in Moscow.
Reflecting on economic development of the EAEU States in 2022, Sergei Glazyev, EEC Minister in charge of Integration and Macroeconomics, noted that despite challenging external environment Member States were able to ensure their financial stability and maintain an upward trend in their foreign and mutual trade.
"Pessimistic forecasts did not prove their value – a decline in the EAEU economic activity was negligible. Significant economic growth potential remains as there is room for increasing industrial output. That is due to the fact that domestic market was partly vacated by a number of foreign suppliers and manufacturers, as well as due to the existing opportunities to increase capacity utilization and import substitution. At the same time, it is necessary to apply special refinancing instruments more broadly," stressed Sergei Glazyev.
The Commission presented the results of monitoring macroeconomic indicators defining sustainable economic development of the Eurasian Economic Union States as of year-end 2022.
It is highlighted that inflation accelerated in all the EAEU countries. Its estimated value grew from 12.7% in 2021 to 13.3% in 2022. Inflation was the lowest in Armenia (8.3%); consumer prices over the year were most stable in Kyrgyzstan.
"As of year-end 2022, the quantitative budget deficit value in the state-controlled sector was not exceeded by the EAEU countries. Budget balances of most EAEU States improved, while the debt of the state-controlled sector was significantly reduced in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan," told Mikhail Silvestrov, Head of the EEC Section of Cooperation in Implementing the Agreed Macroeconomic Policy.
An intensified growth of budget revenues in all the EAEU countries facilitated their budget stability. In most of the Union countries budget expenditures grew extensively, which was largely conditioned by supporting their economies in the settings of external shocks and growing inflation.
For reference
The Commission supervises the agreed macro-economic policy of the Member States via monitoring macro-economic indicators defining the Member States' sustainable economic development and conformity of their quantitative values with the targets established by Article 63 of the Treaty on the EAEU: the inflation rate (consumer price index) on a yearly basis (December on previous December as a percentage) should not exceed by more than 5 percentage points the inflation rate in the Member State where this figure is the lowest; the consolidated budget deficit of the state-controlled sector should not be over 3% of GDP; the debt of a state-controlled sector should not be over 50% of GDP.
If the quantitative values of macro-economic indicators are exceeded, the Commission develops its recommendations and joint measures aimed at stabilizing the economic situation in such Member State.
