5-year integration strategy and economy after pandemic discussed at online EAEU summit

19 мая 2020
Preventing the protectionism, building equal conditions in common markets and launching new projects were discussed at the summit, which was held for the second time this year in the format of a video conference.

Measures to combat the pandemic and restore economies in the post-coronavirus era were paid attention to at the last summit. The issues remained relevant. The strategy, developed by the participants, turned out comprehensive, although not indisputable. 

Virtual meetings cannot replace personal communication in the relations of politicians. The Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in a video conference raised more questions than answered. Experts believe that eye to eye communication of the five leaders could facilitate solving current issues.

Alexander Lukashenko, as Chairman of the Supreme Council, proposes to unite the wide and narrow formats of the summit and involve the President of Moldova as the observer country, and members of delegations.

Belarus’s chairmanship coincided with the most difficult year in the past 10 years for the region and the world. It is necessary to support agribusiness and industry, and not at the expense of the allies, within the union. The draft on strategy until 2025 contains the key points of restoring the economy.

The head of the Eurasian Commission will describe the strategy. The main tasks are to put together the efforts in order to get out of the pandemic as soon as possible, overcome its consequences and mitigate the pressure on the economy and people's living standards in a crisis.

The Eurasian Union under the Belarusian chairmanship will activate its hard work. A couple of issues remained untouched. The allies purposefully begin to work together in space exploration, current medical developments, digitalization, and customs. The financial resources will be provided by the Eurasian Development Bank and the Astana financial center. It is important that Minsk invested in projects and contributed to the reviving of the CIS military bloc - the CSTO.

The general strategies are shared by all the states, but with some amendments. For example, Kazakhstan does not approve of the expansion of the Commission through its sovereignty and is not satisfied that the Commission will enter such areas as medicine, education, and tourism.