Maksim Yermalovich, Minister in charge of Competition and Antitrust Regulation of the Eurasian Economic Commission, reported at a meeting of the EEC Board on the progress reached in implementing the Agreement on Mutual Recognition of Bank Guarantees in Public (Municipal) Procurement.

“The agreement entered into force on February 13 this year. It is aimed at ensuring unimpeded access for potential suppliers and vendors registered in one Eurasian Economic Union country to participate in public procurement conducted in another EAEU country,” the EEC Minister noted.

This international treaty had been developed to eliminate the restriction on the Union's internal market associated with the inability to use bank guarantees issued by banks of one Member State to participate in public procurement in the territory of another Member State.

Alongside the Agreement, Decision of the EEC Council No. 87 dated August 29, 2023 aimed at its implementation, also entered into force, thus approving the information exchange procedure and a list of criteria for selecting banks for the purposes of the Agreement.

“Each country of the Union has designated an authorized body to implement the Agreement. “In Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, these are the finance ministries; and in Belarus, this is the National Bank,” Maksim Yermalovich reported.

Hence, the EAEU created a legal mechanism to recognize bank guarantees for public procurement purposes, eliminating the relevant restriction in the Union's law.