EEU: Lukashenko launches a preemptive strike? Lukashenko opposed “protectionism” in the EEU Formation of common markets.

For the Eurasian Economic Union, 2018 was a controversial year from both a political and economic point of view. The President of Belarus announced this on December 6 Alexander Lukashenko at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg, BelTA reports.

“Today we take stock general work in the format of the union for this year and determine the guidelines for interaction for the next one. As for the ending period, it is quite ambiguous both from a political and economic point of view,” said the Belarusian leader. According to him, among the positive achievements one can note the entry into force of the agreement on the Customs Code of the EAEU, the granting of observer status to Moldova, the signing by member states of the Union of a temporary agreement leading to the formation of a free trade zone with Iran, as well as agreements on trade and economic cooperation with China . “Belarus expects that the norms enshrined in these documents will be fully implemented. Each of them was adopted with a reserve for the future and with the expectation of a significant economic effect,” Lukashenko said.

However, he noted that there are important issues that still remain unresolved. First of all, they relate to the elimination of barriers to trade, the formation of common markets for gas and oil, the digitalization of the economies of the EAEU countries, and the development of cooperation in the provision of space and geoinformation services.

According to the Belarusian leader, at the beginning of 2018, Russia, as chairman of the EAEU bodies, continued to work to eliminate barriers, exemptions and restrictions that impede the formation of a common EAEU market. “This is truly one of the most pressing problems of our union, which was identified by the Belarusian side several years ago. However, this issue is being resolved unacceptably slowly. Moreover, new barriers are being erected to replace the barriers being removed. And this has become a practice,” Lukashenko noted, emphasizing that this is “a completely unacceptable situation that violates the agreements reached.”

“As practice has shown, it is important not only to remove obstacles, but also to simultaneously create conditions that exclude the possibility of their reoccurrence. In this regard, I propose to give our Eurasian Economic Commission the authority to make decisions in the event that any participating state re-introduces restrictions or extends existing ones,” he said. According to the Belarusian leader, this will not affect the national interests of states, but at the same time it will eliminate protectionism, which causes serious damage to integration processes. “Well, everyone sitting at this table reacted to global trade protectionism by calling it rude - economic wars. So why are we creating this ourselves?” - Lukashenko said, adding that “it is important not only to remove obstacles, but also to simultaneously create conditions that exclude the possibility of their reoccurrence.”

In addition, the President of Belarus stated that his country stands for ensuring comprehensive and unconditional compliance by all EAEU states with union norms and undertaken obligations. He recalled that the parties agreed to create common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products by 2025. “We are obliged to complete everything on time and ensure the work of the union in conditions of a stable and fair fuel and raw materials policy. In allied relations there are no interests of suppliers and consumers of energy resources. There is an integral system - the Eurasian Economic Union. And we have conceptually and concretely signed up for this,” said the Belarusian leader and expressed solidarity with the opinion of the Russian side on the importance of developing new areas of cooperation, including nuclear energy and renewable energy sources. At the same time, he noted that the lack of agreement on the principles of forming the main oil and gas market does not allow the EAEU to progress at a faster pace, and resolving this key issue will allow countries to begin developing others.

Alexander Lukashenko also touched upon the topic of digitalization of the economy in the EAEU countries. According to him, this problem was substantively discussed by the heads of state at a meeting in a narrow format, and today countries are faced with ambitious tasks to transition to modern technologies and production models. “The effectiveness of integration and the future of the union as a whole will depend on how coherently we can combine the potential of our states through digital solutions. Belarus is ready to fully participate in the implementation of project initiatives of the EAEU digital agenda,” the Belarusian leader emphasized, adding that we are talking, first of all, about digital trade and cooperation, e-logistics, the formation of digital transport corridors, the development of precision technologies in agriculture and industry. “We in Belarus have been engaged in digitalization for a very long time. Based on our experience, I must say: it is now fashionable to talk about digitalization and the development of IT technologies. This is a very important direction, it significantly activates production and reduces costs. But this is probably 20-25% of today. And it will probably stay like this for a long time. And 70-75% is the traditional economy that feeds us today. Therefore, we should not forget about this,” he noted.

Additionally, the Belarusian leader recalled that the agenda of the current EAEU summit also included the issue of developing cooperation in the provision of space and geoinformation services based on national data sources remote sensing Earth. “The implementation of this initiative, taking into account its high multiplier effect on the development of related industries and sectors, will give a powerful impetus to our innovative and industrial cooperation,” the President of Belarus emphasized.

According to Alexander Lukashenko, Eurasian construction should cover all new areas of cooperation. “In this regard, it is especially important that in a year, and this will be five years from the date of signing the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, we can see concrete and tangible results of our work. No one should doubt that the EAEU is an effective joint project aimed at increasing the level of economic well-being of all member states,” the Belarusian leader concluded.

Let us remind you that a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council is taking place in St. Petersburg. During the summit, the leaders of the EAEU countries in a narrow format discuss the implementation of the digital agenda in the organization, the further development of integration processes, the distribution of import customs duties between states, and the formation of a common market for gas, oil and petroleum products. The agenda of the broad meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council includes issues related to the main directions of the organization’s international activities, interaction of the EAEU with other countries, competition in cross-border markets, cooperation in the provision of space and geoinformation services. In addition, the heads of state must agree on the union budget for 2019 and the amount of the fee paid by business entities when applying to the EAEU court.

The Belarusian leader assesses the results of the outgoing year as ambiguous from a political and economic point of view. Alexander Lukashenko outlined his position in St. Petersburg on.

Among the positive achievements, the president noted the entry into force of the agreement on the EAEU Customs Code and the granting of observer status to Moldova. The member states of the union signed an interim agreement leading to the formation of a free trade zone with Iran, and an agreement on trade and economic cooperation with China. The leader of the Republic of Belarus expects that the norms enshrined in these documents “will be implemented in full. Each of them was adopted with a reserve for the future and with the expectation of a significant economic effect.”

However, he noted that there are important issues that still remain unresolved. They relate to the elimination of barriers to trade, the formation of common markets for gas and oil, the digitalization of the economies of the EAEU countries, and the development of cooperation in the provision of space and geoinformation services.

The President stated that at the beginning of this year, Russia, as chairman of the EAEU bodies, continued to work to eliminate barriers, exemptions and restrictions impeding the formation of a common EAEU market. “This is truly one of the most pressing problems of our union, which was identified by the Belarusian side several years ago. However, this issue is being resolved unacceptably slowly,” the head of state noted.

He drew the attention of his colleagues to the need to ensure the work of the union in conditions of a stable and fair fuel and raw materials policy. In allied relations, he added, “there are no interests of suppliers and consumers of energy resources. There is an integral system - the Eurasian Economic Union. And we have conceptually and concretely signed up for this.”

The Russian President, in turn, decided to compare fraternal Belarus with Germany. According to him, today in Belarus the price per thousand cubic meters gas is $129, and next year it will be $127, while in Germany it is $250. Vladimir Putin described this situation against the backdrop of much lower gas prices in Russia itself as “a great advantage for our allies.” At the same time, he agreed that the parties should strive for complete unification. “This requires time and a different level of integration between our countries. This is a subject of negotiations,” said the Russian leader and proposed continuing the discussion with his Belarusian colleague closed to the press.

Lukashenko expressed solidarity with the opinion of the Russian leader. He also drew attention to the importance of developing new areas of cooperation, including nuclear energy and renewable energy sources. However, he noted, the lack of agreement on the principles of forming the main oil and gas market does not allow the EAEU to progress at a faster pace. The solution to this key issue, in his opinion, will allow countries to begin developing other areas.

The agenda of the EAEU summit, as SOYUZ has already reported, also includes the issue of developing cooperation in the provision of space and geoinformation services based on national sources of Earth remote sensing data. The implementation of this initiative, the President of the Republic of Belarus believes, “taking into account its high multiplier effect on the development of related industries and sectors, will give a powerful impetus to our innovative and industrial cooperation.”

Speaking about the prospects for the further development of the EAEU, the leader of Belarus noted that Eurasian construction should cover all new areas of cooperation. “No one should doubt that the EAEU is an effective joint project aimed at increasing the level of economic well-being of all member states,” he concluded.

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Work to eliminate barriers, exemptions and restrictions on the EAEU market is proceeding unacceptably slowly. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko announced this today at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg, BELTA reports.

Speaking at the summit, the Head of State noted that there are several important issues that still remain unresolved in the EAEU. Alexander Lukashenko dwelled on each of them and presented the position of the Belarusian side on their resolution.

“I am forced to talk about this, but I will speak not from the point of view of moaning and sobbing, but from the point of view of what we agreed, but did not do. And from the point of view of the fact that our union (fortunately, I was at the origins of it creation) was formed on certain freedoms of movement of labor, capital, services, goods. And the most important thing that we agreed on when creating our unified economy is that all economic entities and our people will have equal conditions. If there are no such equal conditions, then no and union", - noted the Belarusian leader.

Removing barriers and exemptions on the EAEU market

The President stated that at the beginning of 2018, Russia, as chairman of the EAEU bodies, continued to work to eliminate barriers, exemptions and restrictions that impede the formation of a common EAEU market. “This is truly one of the most pressing problems of our union, which was identified by the Belarusian side several years ago. However, this issue is being resolved unacceptably slowly. Moreover, new barriers are being erected to replace the barriers being removed. And this has become practice.”, - the Head of State drew attention.

Alexander Lukashenko believes that this is a completely unacceptable situation that violates the agreements reached. “As practice has shown, it is important not only to remove obstacles, but also to simultaneously create conditions that exclude the possibility of their reoccurrence. In this regard, I propose to give our Eurasian Economic Commission the authority to make decisions in the event of re-imposition of restrictions by any participating state or extension already operating", - he said.

According to the Belarusian side, this will not affect the national interests of states, while it will eliminate protectionism, which causes serious damage to integration processes. “Everyone sitting at this table reacted to global trade protectionism by calling it rude-economic wars. So why do we create them ourselves?- asked the President. “We should also increase the responsibility of representatives of the executive branch of our countries for making decisions that run counter to the principles enshrined in our treaty of union.”.

Formation of common markets

Belarus stands for ensuring comprehensive and unconditional compliance by all EAEU states with union norms and assumed obligations. Alexander Lukashenko recalled that the parties agreed to create common markets for gas, oil and petroleum products by 2025.

“We are obliged to complete everything on time and ensure the work of the union in conditions of a stable and fair fuel and raw materials policy,- said the Head of State. - In allied relations there are no interests of suppliers and consumers of energy resources. There is a complete system-Eurasian Economic Union. And we have conceptually and concretely signed up for this.”

The President expressed solidarity with the opinion of the Russian side on the importance of developing new areas of cooperation, including nuclear energy and renewable energy sources. However, he noted, the lack of agreement on the principles of forming the main oil and gas market does not allow the EAEU to progress at a faster pace, the Belarusian leader believes. Solving this key issue will allow countries to begin developing other areas.

Digitalization of the economy in the EAEU countries

This topic was substantively discussed by the heads of state at the meeting in a narrow format. Countries face ambitious goals to transition to modern technologies and production models. “The effectiveness of integration and the future of the union as a whole will depend on how well we can unite the potential of our states through digital solutions,”- said Alexander Lukashenko. “Belarus is ready to fully participate in the implementation of project initiatives of the EAEU digital agenda”.

First of all, we are talking about digital trade and cooperation, electronic logistics, the formation of digital transport corridors, and the development of precision technologies in agriculture and industry.

“We in Belarus have been engaged in digitalization for a very long time. Based on our experience, I must say: now it is fashionable to talk about digitalization, the development of IT technologies. This is a very important area, it significantly activates production, reduces costs. But this is probably 20-25% of today. And it will probably stay like this for a long time. And 70-75% is the traditional economy that feeds us today. Therefore, we must not forget about this."- added the Head of State.

Development of space and geoinformation services

The agenda of the current EAEU summit also included the issue of developing cooperation in the provision of space and geoinformation services based on national sources of Earth remote sensing data.

“The implementation of this initiative, taking into account its high multiplier effect on the development of related industries and sectors, will give a powerful impetus to our innovative and industrial cooperation”, - the President is convinced.

Speaking about the prospects for the further development of the EAEU, Alexander Lukashenko noted that Eurasian construction should cover all new areas of cooperation.

“In this regard, it is especially important that in a year, and this will be five years from the date of signing the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, we are able to see concrete and tangible results of our work. No one should have any doubt that the EAEU- “This is an effective joint project aimed at improving the economic well-being of all member states,”- summed up the Belarusian leader.

According to the Belarusian leader, he had to apologize to Putin

Leaders of the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union gathered in St. Petersburg. We discussed the current activities of the EAEU and immediate plans. The meeting was chaired by Vladimir Putin. The President noted the success of cooperation in a number of industries, as well as the increase in exports of products from the Union countries to foreign markets. At the meeting, disagreements between the partners also emerged. The head of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, was dissatisfied with the tariffs at which Russia supplies gas to his country.

Energy, space, digital economy, financial sector are the main topics of the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, notes. Vladimir Putin called the results of the outgoing year, which were summed up by the heads of the six states that are members of the EAEU, successful. The total GDP of the countries of the union has increased. Production in industry and agriculture is growing. Trade turnover within the alliance alone increased to $44 billion.

“Trade turnover with external partners increased by 21% - to $548 billion, mainly due to an increase in our exports. The EurAsEC has improved its position in international rankings, in particular in doing business. According to Doing Business-2018, according to the weighted average indicators of states - members, it moved to 31st place. Let me remind you that in 2017 this was 40 out of 190 economies in the world," Putin said.

The main current task of the EurAsEC is to remove trade barriers and ensure equal access to energy resources. The common market for oil, petroleum products and gas, according to experts, should add nine billion dollars to the GDP of the countries of the union. Creating such a space will take some time. However, the leader of Belarus, for example, wants to feel the effect of the not yet created market now.

“In our country, on the border with the Smolensk region, it costs almost $130 per thousand cubic meters. And the established wholesale price for consumers of the same Smolensk region of business entities is $70, almost two times lower. A simple question: how to compete in this situation?” - said Lukashenko.

“It is not the tariff that is important, but the final price of gas, which includes this tariff, that is important. Today Belarus has 129 dollars per thousand cubic meters, next year it will be 127, and in Germany - 250. And this, of course, is a big advantage for our allies in the EurAsEC ", Putin replied.

"But our main partner, unfortunately or fortunately, is not Germany, but Russian Federation. And our main not only partners, but also competitors and so on are the Russians. It seems that we fought against Germany together, but our people, who have not yet died after the war, have this situation. They have 200 dollars, and we, say, 130, because we still have to pump three thousand kilometers there. That's why they have such a price. That’s why,” Lukashenko argued.

“But if there was a market market for Belarus, there wouldn’t be 129 and 127, it would be under 200, that’s what it’s all about. But come on, we’ll discuss it later behind closed doors,” Putin urged.

“Okay,” the President of Belarus answered him.

After the closed part of the meeting, Alexander Lukashenko admitted to journalists that he apologized to Vladimir Putin for the dispute over the price of gas. The details of the dialogue, as the Belarusian leader put it, are better not known to the press. But the discussion of the prospects for joint space exploration did not cause any disagreement. Union countries next year plan to create a unified orbital constellation of Earth remote sensing satellites. It is planned to produce new devices that will surpass foreign analogues. The project is commercial. And it is possible that new partners of the EurAsEC - China, Iran, Singapore, Israel, Serbia, India and Egypt - will be interested in it. This is exactly how the union was envisioned by its inspirer, Nursultan Nazarbayev, when he proposed to join forces in 1994.

“Then I imagined a powerful economic union, which over time would transform into a big player in the international arena and would attract others with its actions who would want to work with us. Today, in fact, this idea has become a reality, we are working in it,” said President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev.

At the same time, the union itself is expanding - the leader of Moldova, Igor Dodon, took part in the meeting as an observer. Monetary and financial policy is actively coordinated within the EAEU. In the fall, representatives of the central banks of the alliance countries signed an agreement on the harmonization of relevant legislation.

“This is a big step towards the formation of a common financial space. We propose to work out the issue of creating a common settlement structure in the EurAsEC using modern financial technologies. This would make it possible to increase the stability of the national payment systems of our countries, making them less dependent on the dollar and other foreign currencies. This is literally an increase in economic sovereignty,” said the Russian President.

At the end of the meeting, Vladimir Putin presented his colleagues with a panel with the national flags of the member countries of the union that had visited the ISS. The leaders continued the meeting in an informal setting and in an expanded format with the heads of the CIS states. In the evening they are all by invitation Russian President arrived at the Mariinsky Theater, where at this moment they are performing the ballet “The Nutcracker”.

Alexander Ogorodnikov. Yulia Oleynik. "TV Center".

Lukashenko got into a tough verbal spat with Putin while discussing gas prices for Belarus. But in the end he asked for forgiveness “from the owner.”

The highlight of the EAEU summit, which took place on December 6 in St. Petersburg, was the verbal spat between Lukashenko and Putin over the price of gas supplied to Belarus. The specific agreements reached at the summit (if any) have not yet been announced.

“The most important thing we agreed on when creating our unified economy is that all business entities and our people will have equal conditions. If there are no such equal conditions, then there is no union,” Lukashenko emphasized.

What meaning did the Belarusian leader put into this passage?

An economist comments on the preliminary results of the summit Lev Margolin and political scientist Valery Karbalevich.

Lev Margolin: Russia understands perfectly well that it will have to support its ally

Let's wait for the assessment of Lukashenko himself, who voices all the results - both positive and negative - literally within a day or two.

In the confrontation between the leaders of Belarus and Russia, I would pay attention to the following detail: Lukashenko spoke openly, and Putin transferred the discussion to a closed format - let’s talk, but after the journalists have left. This circumstance clearly illustrates the approaches of Belarus and Russia to discussing economic issues.

After all, Belarus itself signed an agreement according to which a single market for gas and oil should be established by 2025. But the economic situation is getting worse, and Russia understands perfectly well that it must somehow support its ally. But I think we’ll find out in the near future exactly how.

- Lukashenko’s phrase “No equal conditions - no union” was thrown in the hearts or with subtext?

I think the phrase was formulated deliberately, and it can be understood in two ways.

You can understand it in the future tense: if there are no equal conditions, there will be no union, because we don’t need such a union. But the second option is also readable: as long as there are no equal conditions, then de facto there is no union - without a threat in the subtext. I think this is Lukashenko’s home preparation.

- Did Lukashenko manage to negotiate something from Russia today?

Specific agreements have not been announced. Success may vary, for example, specific agreements. On the other hand, Pu n could tell Lukashenko: don’t worry, we will resolve all issues - and Lukashenko will perceive this as a concrete outcome of the negotiations.

We must understand that in today’s situation, any outcome of the negotiations will be positive for Lukashenko, during which he will bargain for something additional to what he already has. Lukashenko spoke about tariffs for pumping gas, but remained silent that gas itself is more expensive for Belarus than in the Smolensk region. Indeed, Putin himself said: $127 per thousand cubic meters of gas is more than in the Smolensk region, but cheaper than in Germany. Like on a military bridgehead: every captured kilometer (or even meter) matters.

Valery Karbalevich: Is Lukashenko launching a preemptive strike to forestall Russia?

It is too early to draw conclusions, because even the agenda of the summit is not completely clear: only a part of the dispute between Lukashenko and Putin was made public, and a public dispute, after which negotiations continued in a closed format.

- Does the public dispute between the two leaders indicate serious problems within the EAEU?

The problem that Lukashenko remembered is an old one, he constantly refers to it. You could say this is an eternal dispute within the EAEU. There are a lot of problems in the union, and one of them is that the signed agreements do not work, as Lukashenko said. The union has united authoritarian regimes that take the law lightly; If laws and rules are not followed within each country, how can they do so in international politics? The only question is why Lukashenko raised this problem in the presence of journalists. Putin did not like this because he believes that such problems are better discussed on the sidelines. This is the most interesting moment of the entire summit.

- How did you understand Lukashenko’s passage “No equal conditions - no union”?

This is a long-standing demand of the Belarusian side, as long as the “Union State” has existed, Lukashenko has been putting forward this thesis, not to mention the Eurasian Economic Union. Thus, he puts pressure on Russia, offering to switch to the stated conditions. Lukashenko looks not like a petitioner who is seeking certain benefits from Russia, but like a lawyer, like a person standing up for the law. Like, what kind of union is there if there are no equal conditions? His position looks noble, and it is difficult to accuse him of asking Russia for benefits. Perhaps Lukashenko has behind-the-scenes information that Russia wants to move to equal conditions not in 2025, as stipulated in the agreement, but later. Perhaps Lukashenko is launching a preemptive strike to forestall Russia.

“Belarusian partisan”