Russian PM welcomes global economy complications as incentives for Eurasian Economic Union

GRODNO (BelTA) – Complicated processes going on in the global economy represent a good incentive for consolidating forces and uniting actions of the Eurasian Economic Union member states. The statement was made by Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev during the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Grodno on 8 September, BelTA has learned.

Dmitry Medvedev said: “We are in a rather complicated economic situation in comparison with what we had when our union was formed. The state of affairs in the global economy is complicated, contradictory, and is not fully figured out. There is turbulence on capital markets in a number of countries including China and several European states. The Russian Federation economy also feels the pressure of sanctions. The market of hydrocarbons is extremely undetermined. Thus, the variability on financial and commodity platforms is the key factor of our new economic life. We have to take it into account as we guide our own policy. All these factors create additional risks for the national economies. They have already manifested themselves in some things. Yet they represent a good incentive for consolidating forces and uniting our actions.”

The Russian Prime Minister underlined that now the Eurasian Economic Union countries should push for creating a full-value common market of commodities and services. The work to form the legal base of the Union should be continued, primarily with regard to barriers and exemptions and some non-transparency that still exists one way or another. A new Customs Code is supposed to be adopted in the next few months with a view to enforcing it in 2016. The agreements on the procedure for signing international agreements, on approaches to regulating currency relations and operations on financial markets as well as many other documents will be prepared by the end of the year. Interaction in the sphere of macroeconomic policy and the currency and finance policy is important for all countries. The relevant mechanism has already been determined. Dmitry Medvedev also mentioned the importance of the August meeting of the ministers of economy, finance and the heads of the central banks of the EEU member states in Moscow and suggested regular meetings like that.

Dmitry Medvedev also stressed that in the current conditions it is important to prevent competitive devaluation, to avoid the temptation to secure short-term advantages for foreign trade through the weaker national currency. “It is a dangerous way that leads to the unbalancing of a number of economy branches,” he said.

Speaking about the agenda, Dmitry Medvedev noted that the draft main guidelines for industrial cooperation had been submitted for consideration ahead of time. He said it was also necessary to decide on international interaction. The main guidelines for cooperation in 2015 and practical steps to build mutually beneficial relations with the European Union had to be discussed.

Dmitry Medvedev mentioned it was important to prepare measures that can prevent possible negative consequences of Kazakhstan's accession to the WTO for the economies of the Eurasian Economic Union member states. The work has to be thorough. Dmitry Medvedev also said that the practice of labelling goods using a special technology (the pilot project to demonstrate the technology with regard to fur goods is about to launch) should be expanded onto other sensitive kinds of merchandise. “The progress is slower than we expected but the matter is important for everyone. The mechanism is indeed capable of effectively resolving the problem of grey trade in addition to addressing a number of other issues,” he said.

Dmitry Medvedev thanked Belarus for organizing the session in Grodno and congratulated Kyrgyzstan on joining the Eurasian Economic Union.