Yurii PoitaRecently, a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council was held, which demonstrated the use by Russia of the Eurasian Economic Union as an instrument of geopolitical influence in the post-Soviet space and the expansion of Moscow’s influence to other regions.
At the same time, the economic prospects of the EAEU remain low – the work to remove obstacles to access to the markets of the member states is carried out slowly and does not allow the free movement of goods to the Russian markets. The solutions, developed to remove barriers, are mostly formal and help to protect the Russian market from the goods of the member countries.
Foreign investment is the basis of the macroeconomic policy of the EAEU but FDI has significantly decreased, the budgets of the EAEU states will remain in deficit and the economies of the member states will need external financing. Mutual direct investments remain insignificant, and their increase is not expected.
Russia is trying to deepen integration by unifying the legislation of the members in various areas, and by cooperation in the production of vaccines against COVID-19. Moscow also uses the dependence of the EAEU countries on labor migration in Russia, and is trying to prevent a decrease in energy dependence on Russia.
Interestingly enough, Minsk tried to use the EAEU to form a unified anti-Western position, which could draw other countries, incl CA, into confrontation with the West. While they would like to maintain constructive relations with the EU and the US.