Integration Organisations in the Post-Soviet Space

The institutional aspect of regional integration is one of its most important components. A host of integration organisations emerged in the post-Soviet space during the as yet incomplete two decades following the breakdown of the Soviet Union.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is the oldest organisation; the agreement establishing it was signed on October 8, 1991. The Commonwealth is built on the principles of sovereign equality of all its members. The main activities of the organisation are economic cooperation; general political issues; humanitarian cooperation and social issues; cooperation in the area of defence and border control, and the fight against organised crime; interregional and cross-border cooperation; unification of regulatory framework; and financial cooperation. A total of 87 bodies were formed during the existence of the CIS, including 78 bodies engaged in sectoral cooperation, in particular sector-specific Councils that play an important part in sector interaction in the post-Soviet space.

The Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) is an international organisation whose members are Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan (Uzbekistan joined EurAsEC in 200 but suspended its membership in 2008). Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine have observer status. EurAsEC has a broad area of activities, but its main focus is economic cooperation and integration, with the ultimate goal of building a single economic space and common market mechanisms, and coordinating the approaches of the member countries for integration into the global economy and global trading system. EurAsEC’s priority areas are transport, energy, agriculture, and labour migration.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) was set up in 2001 by Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. It was a successor of the “Shanghai Five.” The main objectives of the SCO are to build mutual trust and good neighbourliness between the member countries; facilitate effective political, trading and economic, scientific and technical, and

the business community of the six countries and aims to enhance economic cooperation within the framework of the organisation, build direct relationships and dialogue between the business and financial structures of the member states, and facilitate practical promotion of multilateral projects.

The Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). The Collective Security Treaty (CST) was signed on May 1, 1992; its parties today are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. CSTO succeeded the CST, having become a Eurasian organisation not only geographically, but also in the political and legal sense, due to the universality of its principles and practical goals and to the participation of its member countries in the respective European and Asian security structures, OSCE and SCO in particular. The decision to transform the Collective Security Treaty into an international regional organisation, which was taken by the heads of the member states in May 2002 (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan), was also influenced by the need to adapt the Treaty to the dynamics of regional and international security, and to counteract new challenges and threats. In its new form as an organisation, cooperation in the framework of CSTO preserved the main principles set forth in the Treaty. The CSTO is primarily a military and political organisation.

The Union State of Russia and Belarus (USRB). The agreement on the union of Belarus and Russia was signed in 1997 on the basis of the community of Belarus and Russia, which was formed in April 199 to unite the humanitarian, economic and military space. After January 2000, the official name of the Union was the Union State.

GU(U)AM is an organisation whose members are Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine (Uzbekistan was also a member from 1999 to 200). GUAM’s objectives are the multilateral interaction of member states in the area of democratisation and economic cooperation, and the activation of integration with European countries.

The Central Asian Cooperation Organisation (CACO). The agreement on CACO was signed in 2002. The new organisation replaced the Central Asian Economic Union; its objectives included regional interaction and maintaining stability in Central Asia. The organisation disbanded in 200.

In addition to the above, there are structures in the CIS region that are not reviewed in detail in this report. However, the following should be mentioned: the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC), which was formed with the support of the Asian Development Bank; the UN Special Programme for the Economies of Central Asia (SPECA); larger interregional structures such as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICMA), the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) and the EU’s Eastern Partnership Programme, as well as a number of specialised organisations (TRACECA, Central and South Asia Transport and Trade Forum, the International Foundation for the Saving of the Aral Sea, etc.).

The CIS countries form a natural area of common interests. The integration of the former Soviet countries is driven by objective economic reasons. In the recent past, these countries, albeit notable differences, formed a single political, economic and cultural space. Much of this heritage has been preserved up to nowadays.

The global crisis changed the global political, financial and economic architecture, with some effects already visible. These are, in particular, the launching of the G-20 institutionalisation that reflects the strengthening of developing countries and a shift in the global economic balance. The IMF is becoming stronger and the idea of a global reserve currency based on the IMF’s SDR is being discussed. It is probable that a new global financial regulator will emerge.

Country CIS (1991) EurAsEC (2000) SCo

Armenia X observer (2003) Х

Belarus X Х partner Х

Moldova Х observer (2002) Х

Russia Х Х Х Х Х

The financial and economic crisis requires revision and corrective measures on regional integration. In particular, it is worth mentioning the establishment of the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia; the decision to move toward the Common Economic Area of these three countries by 2012; the establishment of EurAsEC’s Anti-crisis Fund, and the negotiations over the proposed Grain Pool. The crisis forced all countries to take a more careful stance in their foreign affairs and pursue a more expansive foreign trade policy. The current changes could seriously affect the “integration” landscape of the Eurasian space and lead to a new stage in the relationships between the Eurasian nations. In this context, efficient monitoring and assessment of integration dynamics and trends become a priority.