Translated material
Elders of integration
The Customs Union was strengthened by the 70th anniversary of Nursultan Nazarbayev
From today, the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan will operate at almost full capacity. The day before, this decision was made by the leaders of the three countries in Astana. However, although all the meetings were held behind closed doors, even from the behavior of the heads of state during the joint statement to the press, it was clear that serious passions were boiling behind closed doors.Even without this event, the number of holidays in Astana was already going through the roof. The 70th anniversary of Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the 20th anniversary of the new Kazakh capital Astana and the 10th anniversary of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC) - all of them were born on July 6th. Now, on July 6, it will be possible to celebrate another holiday - the beginning of the official functioning of the Customs Union. It includes Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, and in addition to these three states, the EurAsEC also includes Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Armenia, Moldova and Ukraine have observer status.
Five leaders of the participating countries and Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan came to the EurAsEC summit. The lapels of all presidents' jackets were decorated with a badge with the symbols of the unification. But Dmitry Medvedev added the Russian tricolor, and the head of Kyrgyzstan, Roza Otunbaeva, added a brooch in the national style. Nursultan Nazarbayev took a place at the head of the table, which not only indicated his role as host of the summit, but also separated the other two participants in the Customs Union - Russian President Medvedev and the head of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko.
It should be recalled that it was the position of the Belarusian president that threatened the usefulness of the Customs Union. In response to Russia's refusal to cancel export duties on oil and petroleum products, Mr. Lukashenko began to publicly question the need for the existence of the Customs Code if it contains such significant exemptions. As a result, Moscow and Astana agreed that the Customs Code will be in force on the territory of the two states from July 1. And Minsk continued to intrigue about joining for almost a week. Anonymous sources said the Belarusian parliament had secretly ratified the code, but officials refused to comment. Only after arriving in Astana on Sunday did Mr. Lukashenko announce that all the necessary documents had been ratified. Thus wanting to demonstrate that it was not just anyone, but Minsk, who put the finishing touches.
The news about the creation of the Customs Union and the transition to the next stage - the formation of a single economic space, was announced by Mr. Nazarbayev. And at that second he choked, and the Belarusian dad carefully handed him a glass of water.
After the speech of the President of Kazakhstan there was a pause. Mr. Lukashenko leaned back in his chair, indicating that he did not intend to take the floor just yet. Dmitry Medvedev was also silent. The Kazakh leader tried to smooth out the awkwardness by inviting Mr. Sargsyan to speak, but the creation of the Customs Union has nothing directly to do with his country. The Belarusian president finally noticed that he was ready to speak, but then Dmitry Anatolyevich turned on the microphone.
“Sometimes it seemed to us that we were standing still (at that moment Mr. Lukashenko began to take notes in a notebook - Ed. ), but we moved faster than in the European Union (the Belarusian president put down his pen - Ed. ). We sometimes discuss heatedly, but in the end we always reach agreements, as the summit showed,” the Russian leader began his speech. The presidents did not allow themselves to make direct attacks on each other. Mr. Medvedev only emphasized that the Customs Code between Russia and Kazakhstan began to operate on July 1, and in a trilateral format - on the 6th.
From Mr. Lukashenko's subsequent speech, an outsider would have concluded that Russia is not participating in the creation of the Customs Union at all. “He and I (with Nursultan Nazarbayev - Ed. ) are elders in this policy,” Mr. Lukashenko said. He generally addressed himself exclusively to him. “Two anniversaries coincided here—the president’s and the EurAsEC’s,” the dad began. “Well, EurAsEC has a little less than me,” Mr. Nazarbayev noted. “Don’t worry, you don’t look any worse,” Mr. Lukashenko instantly retorted. Which, however, sounded like an indirect reproach to the union, which, despite its young age, no longer looks good. “I said in a limited meeting,” the Belarusian president lifted the veil of secrecy over the negotiation process, “that any union of close, even fraternal states should bring benefit to the people. Wait and see".
It should be recalled that from January 1 of this year, a single customs tariff came into force on the territory of three countries - Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. On July 1, the Customs Code was supposed to come into force, which meant the actual beginning of the existence of the Customs Union. But on the way to a bright future there were obstacles that seemed insurmountable, in particular export duties on oil and petroleum products. It was decided that the Customs Code will remain in effect for the time being with certain exceptions. Customs posts at the borders of the participating countries will also remain for some time.
The customs duty rate on crude oil exported outside the territory of Russia and the states participating in the agreements on the Customs Union, from July 1, 2010, according to the Central Energy Customs, is $248.8 per ton. At the same time, crude oil intended for domestic consumption in Belarus is not subject to export customs duties. Earlier, Moscow and Minsk agreed on the duty-free supply of 6.3 million tons of Russian oil to Belarus this year.
Alexander Lukashenko, as you know, demanded the immediate abolition of oil duties. But in the end, he received only a promise that all export duties would be abolished in a single economic space. True, it was decided to speed up the emergence of such a space as much as possible. If previously it was assumed that by January 1, 2011, 14 fundamental documents of the Common Economic Space would be adopted, now by this date the space should already be fully operational - a year earlier than the previous date.
The hard-won Customs Union has forced people to talk again about a “triple” accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) - it was with such a statement by Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in June last year that the new history of the Customs Union began. “We are continuing the process on a single negotiating position, as we agreed,” Mr. Nazarbayev said yesterday. However, the Russian side is in no hurry to confirm this position. “We still have a single negotiating group of the Customs Union, created last year, which is negotiating with the United States and the European Union to form a common position,” First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, who oversees the foreign economic bloc in the government, explained to reporters. “At the same time, we understand that Russia has fewer disagreements with its trading partners.” According to Mr. Shuvalov, Russia has every opportunity to resolve existing differences in the coming weeks. So the decision whether to wait at the doors of the WTO for other participants of the Customs Union will be made by the Russian authorities regardless of the partners in the new integration project. “The presidents will decide how to tactfully complete the accession process,” explained the first deputy prime minister.
Another important decision taken yesterday was the signing of a new status for the EurAsEC Court with headquarters in Minsk. Dmitry Medvedev considers this event significant. “This means that integration is entering its final phase. A court is needed when there are real relations,” said the Russian president.
The achievements in the construction of the Customs Union made a great impression on those present. At least two remaining behind-the-scenes members of the EurAsEC have promised to get serious about joining it. “We are determined to become members of the Customs Union, but we are already members of the WTO,” said Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbaeva. Tajikistan is not against joining the CU either.
The Russian President held his first meeting in Astana with Ms. Otunbayeva, who officially assumed the presidency only at the end of last week. It is known that Dmitry Medvedev is skeptical about the form of a parliamentary republic, which was approved by the referendum held in Kyrgyzstan, but he did not overshadow the meeting by repeating his fears. In turn, Ms. Otunbaeva thanked the Russian President for the support provided during her short visit to the celebrations in honor of Victory Day. At the same time, Ms. Otunbaeva is most worried about the money issue now. She stated that she was counting on the EurAsEC anti-crisis fund. At a bilateral meeting, Mr. Medvedev suggested that she always count on Russia's support. “Russia is not indifferent to the fate of Kyrgyzstan and its people,” Mr. Medvedev said. True, he did not specify whether Russian attention would be expressed in any currency.
Bilateral negotiations were also held with the host of the summit, Nursultan Nazarbayev. During the meeting, Mr. Medvedev first of all congratulated Mr. Nazarbayev on his birthday and promised to do this more than once “in different formats.” But the matter was not limited to congratulations. The presidents took a step towards restoring the unity of the energy systems of Russia and Kazakhstan - this is how the expansion of Ekibastuz GRES-2 is assessed. In the presence of Messrs. Medvedev and Nazarbayev, representatives of Vnesheconombank, the Eurasian Development Bank, INTER RAO UES, Samruk-Energo and GRES-2 itself signed a loan agreement providing for financing the construction of the 3rd power unit of the station. The total cost of the project is about $800 million, and as a result of its implementation, the installed capacity will increase by 540 MW. Russian Vnesheconombank will provide a 15-year credit line in the amount of 12 billion rubles, and it is agreed that the costs of equipment and services provided exclusively by Russian companies will be paid from it.
But bilateral negotiations with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko were not included in the Russian leader’s plans. However, in recent days they communicated so emotionally in absentia that they apparently had nothing to say to each other face to face. True, it was also impossible to completely avoid communication. After they sat down together at the negotiating table during the day, in the evening they had to again find themselves at the same table, this time for a holiday.
Last night, all the event participants and invited guests, such as the King of Jordan and the Sheikh of the United Arab Emirates, went to the huge Khan Shatyr shopping and entertainment complex, which looks like a giant hat (but actually symbolizes a yurt leaning in the wind), to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Astana and accompanying events, as Nursultan Nazarbayev modestly called his anniversary “elbasy” (“head of the people”). At the same time, he intended to celebrate his birthday exclusively with his family.