DUSHANBE, May 20, 2011, Asia-Plus — Belarusian news agency, BelTA, quoted Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as saying at an enlarged session of the Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) Interstate Council in Minsk on May 19 that Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are interested in joining the Customs Union.
“The Customs Union (CU) and the Single Economic Space (SES) are open for new participants. The colleagues from Kyrgyzstan announced their interest in joining these structures. Tajikistan also expressed interested,” Vladimir Putin was cited as saying.
According to him, within a narrow session of the Organization”s Interstate Council the heads of government agreed, that the EAEC Secretariat and the corresponding structure of the Customs Union will hold consultations with Kyrgyzstan, analyze the situation and define ways of further work on Kyrgyzstan”s joining the Customs Union.
Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, reports Russian PM Putin said on Thursday that the preparations to sign the agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union must be completed by January 1, 2013.
The new union will be forged on the basis of the EAEC, which groups Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
“By January 1, 2013, all preparations for the signing of the agreement on Eurasian Economic Union must be accomplished,” Putin said at the EAEC Interstate Committee meeting in Minsk, where the Russian prime minister proposed discussing the draft declaration that will lay out the principles on which the economic union will be created.
Putin said the level of integration between the economies of the member states of the new union will be higher than within the EAEC. “The creation of such a union will help us maintain mutually beneficial cooperation with other countries, international and regional economic unions, including the EU, with the subsequent creation of a common economic space,” Putin said.
“Starting January 1, 2012, a common market with unified legislation, free movement of capital, goods, services and labor force should start working [under the EAEC] – and in prospect its economic policy in key spheres will also be coordinated,” he added.
