The Eurasian Economic Union: a time of crisis

Abstract:

The Eurasian Economic Union (EaEU), a project forced through by Russia which links it to Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan, struggled with serious problems. The economic crisis in Russia – mainly caused by the fall in the price of oil on world markets and exacerbated by sanctions imposed by Western countries in connection with the Ukraine conflict – affected these uncompetitive post-Soviet economies which are dependent on Russia. This resulted in increased economic and political tension among the members of the EaEU.

From Russia’s point of view, however, the EaEU project remained useful, because it was not economic integration that was Moscow’s priority. The Union remained its most important instrument for implementing the Kremlin’s geo-political objectives, in particular maintaining its sphere of influence and preventing post-Soviet countries from integrating with the West, as well as restricting their rapprochement with China. Moscow pushed for the EaEU to include new countries, strengthening its tools for political dominance within the Union, and promoting its project on the international stage. However, the future of this project depended on both the continued determination of the Kremlin, and whether the other countries could change the rules for integration by taking advantage of the current crisis.

ESO: Key Source: Eurasian Economic Union http://www.europeansources.info/record/eurasian-economic-union/

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