Free trade areas in Europe
In addition to allowing for free trade between states, the customs union imposes a common external tariff on all goods entering the area.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was created in 1960 by the outer seven (as a looser alternative to the then-European Communities) but most of its membership has since joined the Communities/EU leaving only four countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) still party to the treaty.
[1][2] On 10 October 2000, in Astana, the heads of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan signed the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community (entered into force on 30 May 2001), which called for the creation of a free trade regime among members.
In 2005, the Organization of Central Asian Cooperation (OCAC), an international organization that existed from 2002 to 2005, which aimed, among other things, to create a free trade area, whose members included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia, was merged into the Eurasian Economic Community.
In August 2006, the Eurasian Economic Community decided on the establishment of the Customs Union between the three willing states - Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan.
The EAEU is designated as "Plurilateral" Agreement by the WTO's Regional Trade Agreements Information System[3] On 15 April 1994, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of State in Moscow, the presidents of 12 countries, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed an Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area (Соглашение о создании зоны свободной торговли).
According to the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, no one has ceased participation in the Agreement, made reservations or suspended the application.
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[6] (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.
On 20 September 2012 the Free Trade Area Treaty (Договор о зоне свободной торговли) of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed in St Petersburg on 18 October 2011 (the "CIS FTA") came into force for Russia, Belarus and Ukraine after completion of ratification.
For Ukraine, this is the only multilateral FTA in which it participates (the DCFTA with the European Union is a de jure bilateral agreement).
In 2017, additional agreements on a free-trade area were announced, but as of 2022 reportedly the FTA has not been ratified and has not entered into force.
Hence, BAFTA was created more as an initiative of the EU than out of a desire for Baltic states to trade between themselves: they were more interested in gaining access to the rest of the European markets.
Leaders continue to meet regularly, however the assembly now focuses on international issues, including economic development, and military co-operation due to the proximity of Russia.
