Common Economic Space of the Commonwealth of Independent States

Through the signing of international agreements on trade, economic cooperation and integration, countries can achieve an increase in the efficiency of their economies, which suffered due to the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

On 5 September 1991 the Law of the USSR “On the bodies of state power and administration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in the transition period” was signed.

According to the decree of the President of the USSR of 6 September, the Committee was to cease its activity from the moment the IEC began its work.

The treaty was signed by the heads of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the president of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Mikhail Gorbachev, but was not ratified and implemented.

The inspirer of the Ashgabat statement, Nursultan Nazarbayev, informed his colleagues about the meeting with Yeltsin, during which the Russian president said that the creation of the commonwealth was not an accomplished fact, but only a proposal sent to the republics for consideration.

Further prospects of the inter-republican commonwealth will be discussed on 21 December in Alma-Ata, where Nursultan Nazarbayev invited the leaders of all 12 republics.

On 13 March 1992, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed an Agreement on the Coordinated Policy in the Field of Standardization, Metrology and Certification, which entered into force for all these countries.

[30] On 24 September 1993, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Georgia signed the Agreement on the Creation of the interstate Euroasian Coal and Metal Community, which entered into force in 1995 for Kazakhstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and in 1996 entered into force for Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine.

[31] On 12 January 1994, the Kommersant newspaper wrote that “for the first time since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, representatives of economic sectors have managed to create a supra-governmental body that has not only recommendatory functions, but also has the ability to solve most of the production issues of metallurgical and coal enterprises” and the authority of the Euroasian Community of Coal and Metal is mandatory for the governing bodies of the participating countries, rather than recommendations.

[32] Protocol on termination of the Agreement on Creation of the Interstate Euroasian Coal and Metal Community was signed on 19 September, 2003.

[34] On 24 September 1993, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of State in Moscow, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan signed the Treaty on the creation of an Economic Union which reinforces by an international agreement the intention to create an economic union through the step-by-step creation of a free trade area, a customs union and conditions for the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor.

[42] On 29 March 1994, President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev complained that the CIS was inadequate and did not provide the integration that the countries badly needed.

[43] The Eurasian Patent Convention was signed on 9 September 1994 by Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine and Georgia.

A 2004 International Monetary Fund publication noted that it was not a customs union (which requires a common external tariff) but a free trade area (as of 2004).

[53] On 2 April 1999, in Moscow, the presidents of 11 countries, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed a Protocol on Amendments and Additions to the Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area of 15 April 1994[54] (Протокол о внесении изменений и дополнений в Соглашение о создании зоны свободной торговли от 15 апреля 1994 года).

According to the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, no one has ceased participation in the Protocol or suspended the application, while 1 reservation was made by Azerbaijan on non-application in relation to Armenia and 2 specific opinions were expressed by Georgia and Ukraine.

[55] In 2007, a scientific article evaluated the legal framework for free trade in the post-Soviet space as a particular blend of 'à la carte multilateralism' and multiple bilateralism.

While a higher juridicization and comprehensive consolidation at the multilateral level of the CIS free trade regime may be recommended."

[56] In October 2011, the new Commonwealth of Independent States Treaty on Free Trade Area was signed by eight of the eleven CIS prime ministers; Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine at a meeting in St. Petersburg.

Within its participant countries, state borders will cease to be an obstacle to the free movement of goods, services, labor and capital.

[62] On 29 November 2024, the CIS finally adopted an updated Concept for the phased formation of a common labor market and migration regulation.

Participation in agreements and stages of economic integration of post-Soviet states within the common market of CIS and EAEU. The principles of voluntary step-by-step multi-speed and multi-level integration are envisaged in the adopted multilateral documents.
The Protocol to the Agreement on the Creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States dated 21 December 1991. The information from the depository of the international agreement published on the Unified Register of Legal Acts and Other Documents of the Commonwealth of Independent States (under the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States) as of 2024. [ 11 ]
The Treaty on the Creation of the Economic Union dated 24 September 1993. The information from the depository of the international agreement published on the Unified Register of Legal Acts and Other Documents of the Commonwealth of Independent States (under the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States) as of 2024. [ 19 ]
Regional Trade Agreements Database of the World Trade Organization . [ 20 ]
The Agreement on the Creation of Free Trade Area dated 15 April 1994. The information from the depository of the international agreement published on the Unified Register of Legal Acts and Other Documents of the Commonwealth of Independent States (under the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States) as of 2024. [ 21 ]
Regional Trade Agreements Database of the World Trade Organization . [ 22 ]
Regional Trade Agreements Database of the World Trade Organization . [ 45 ]
The 1995 Agreement on the bilateral Customs Union between Russia and Belarus [ 46 ] and the 1995 Agreement on the bilateral Customs Union between Kazakhstan and the combined customs territory of Russia and Belarus [ 47 ] in the database of international treaties of the Eurasian Economic Union [ 48 ]