Tajikistan is studying the pros and cons of other countries that have already joined the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Zavqi Zavqizoda, told reporters in Dushanbe.
“We are currently just analyzing the situation. Taking into consideration an experience of neighboring, we are studying pros and cons,” the minister said.
The head of the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan, Khurshed Karimzoda, also shared his personal opinion about the possibility of Tajikistan’s joining the EAEU.
“Before joining any association or union, there ought to thoroughly study all positive and negative moments. One of points of the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union notes that the Union member nations are exempted from paying customs duties. Meanwhile, we know that a significant part of the country’s budget is replenished by customs duties, and it would be inappropriate to lose this source,” Karimzoda said.
However, in Tajik society the idea of the EAEU’s creation and active discussion ofTajikistan’s prospects for joining the Union are met with mixed reactions. Some believe that joining the EAEU would negatively impact the country’s economic stability, while others claim that this process would be economically beneficial for the country.
Officials have “pressed pause” for now, stating that it is necessary to comprehensively study the issue before going forward.
The pro-western segment of Tajik society did not like the idea of creating the EAEU from the very beginning. Warning of Russia’s intentions to recreate the USSR in service to its own interests, they claim that Tajikistan on a legal level will lose the Tajik people’s hard-earned sovereignty.
Opponents also call the country’s ascension to the EAEU pointless as long as Russia is under the sway of western sanctions. Some experts not receptive to Tajikistan’s participation in the EAEU also point to losses in customs duties.
Nevertheless, there are significantly more supporters of Tajikistan’s integration with theUnion among the public as well as among both local and foreign experts. Supporters of Tajikistan’s participation in the EAEU point to the labor migration factor.
The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is an economic union of states located primarily in northern Eurasia. A treaty aiming for the establishment of the EAEU was signed on May 29, 2014 by the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, and came into force on January 1, 2015. Treaties aiming for Armenia's and Kyrgyzstan's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union were signed on October 9 and December 23, 2014, respectively. Armenia's accession treaty came into force on January 2, 2015. Kyrgyzstan's accession treaty came into effect on August 6, 2015.
The Eurasian Economic Union has an integrated single market of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over 4 trillion U.S. dollars. The EEU introduces the free movement of goods, capital, services and people and provides for common transport, agriculture and energy policies, with provisions for a single currency and greater integration in the future.
The Union operates through supranational and intergovernmental institutions. The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is the “Supreme Body” of the Union, consisting of the Heads of the Member States. The other supranational institutions are the Eurasian Commission (the executive body), the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council (consisting of the Prime Ministers of member states) and the Court of the EEU (the judicial body).
