A meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council has
been held today via videoconferencing involving Heads of State of the Eurasian
Economic Union, Nursultan Nazarbayev, Honorary Chairman of the SEEC and First
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Igor Dodon, President of the Republic
of Moldova, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Miguel
Diaz-Canel Bermudez, President of the Republic of Cuba, and Mikhail
Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission.
The Heads of EAEU States have approved Strategic Directions for Developing
the Eurasian Economic Integration until 2025.
Implementing the Strategy will enable ensuring
priority development of the Member States economies through the increase in
investment and innovation activities and formation of flexible mechanisms to
promote growth and employment.
The document has defined mechanisms for cooperation in
such new areas not provided for by the Treaty on the EAEU as education and
science, tourism, sports and healthcare.
The Commission was instructed to address jointly with
the sides the issue of pricing and tariff formation for gas transportation
services in the EAEU common gas market within the International Treaty on
Forming the Common Gas Market of the Eurasian Economic Union which should be
elaborated in 2021. The outcomes will be reported at the next meeting of the SEEC.
The Supreme Council has approved granting Uzbekistan and
Cuba the Observer State status at the EAEU. The status implies that the Observer State’s
representatives may attend, by invitation, meetings of the Union's governing
bodies without the right to participate in decision-making; they may also
receive documents being adopted by the Union's governing bodies.
The Heads of the Union States have approved the Main
directions of the EAEU's international activity for 2021. The document presents
key vectors and practical priorities of the EAEU's international activities for
the next year, outlines the already established mechanisms of cooperation
between third countries, regional integration associations and international
organizations it is planned to deepen cooperation with in 2021 as well as
potentially promising areas of international cooperation.
The Supreme Council has defined strategic guidelines
in the field of the Union's foreign trade policy for the medium term.
The Heads of the EAEU countries have approved the
launch of negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with Iran – in furtherance of the Interim Agreement with the
Islamic Republic of Iran. This will further strengthen mutually beneficial
economic cooperation, deepen trade ties and expand the range of products
supplied to the EAEU countries and Iran.
The Heads of the Union States have discussed
approaches to improving mechanisms for applying special protective,
anti-dumping and countervailing measures in the EAEU.
The Heads of the EAEU Member States have decided to complete implementing the
first stage of establishing the Union’s common gas market and transit to the
second stage as
well as approved a road map for harmonizing
legislation of the Eurasian Economic Union in the oil sector.
The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council has vested the
EEC Council with powers to approve the Rules for determining the country of
origin of certain goods for public procurement purposes. The relevant decision
related to making amendments to the Rules of Procedure of the Eurasian Economic
Commission was adopted at the SEEC meeting. It is expected that the rules will
provide equal access to public procurement in the Eurasian Economic Union to
suppliers from all the EAEU countries.
The Heads of the EAEU States have approved amendments
to some decisions of the SEEC in part of the weather forecasting services
sector and to the list of service sectors (subsectors) wherein the single market of
services within the EAEU operates in terms of the asset appraisal service
sector. The SEEC Members
have instructed the governments of the
EAEU countries to speed up the liberalization of services.
The Heads of the EAEU States will sign a number of
documents. In particular, the Agreement on information exchange in
the field of combating money laundering and financing of terrorism when moving
cash and (or) cash instruments across the EAEU customs border, the Agreement on free (special, exclusive) economic
areas in the customs territory of the Customs Union and the customs procedure
of the free customs area dated June 18, 2010 and a number of others.
The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council has approved
Erna Hayriyan, Judge of the EAEU Court, as Chairman of the Court of the
Eurasian Economic Union and Konstantin Chaika, Judge of the Union’s Court, as
Deputy Chairman of the EAEU Court. The decision shall come into effect on
January 1, 2021.
In accordance with the SEEC decision, the Republic of
Kazakhstan will chair in the EAEU governing bodies from January 1, 2021 and in
the course of the year – the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, the Eurasian
Intergovernmental Council and the Eurasian Economic Commission’s Council.
According to the Treaty on the EAEU, the chairman post at these authorities is
annually rotated in the Russian alphabetical order. In the outgoing year 2020,
all structures were chaired by the Republic of Belarus and its representatives.
The next meeting of
the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council will be held in May 2021 in the Republic
of Kazakhstan.