Digital transformation of the economy, introduction of innovations and elimination of barriers were the key topics of the meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council

The meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council was held on May 26 in Kazan (Russian Federation). The Prime Ministers of the five countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) discussed a number of issues that are significant for deepening integration processes, including the elimination of barriers and restrictions for the free movement of goods, services and labor resources, the digital agenda of the Union and opportunities for innovation through the support of scientific research and development activities in key industries. 

The Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) received new powers to develop the rules and regulations of fair competition, while providing support for the most significant enterprises and industries. The meeting was attended by
the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Karen Karapetyan, the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbai Jeenbekov, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev, Chairman of the EEC Board Tigran Sargsyan. 
The Chairman of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council, Prime Minister of the Kyrgyz Republic Sooronbai Jeenbekov noted that “the elimination of internal obstacles is a catalyst for the growth of the economies of the EAEU countries and the deepening of joint integration.” According
to the Chairman of the EEC Board, Tigran Sargsyan, one can state the beginning of a new stage in the development of the EAEU. This is due, among other things, to the launch of systematic work in two new key areas – the elimination of obstacles, barriers and restrictions within the economic space and the digitalization of the economy. “Business requires us to resolve these issues as soon as possible,” said the Chairman of the EEC Board. In addition, Tigran Sargsyan stressed that “while shaping common markets, we must strive to deepen cooperation, including so that the Union can position itself in the global economy as an integration association with a powerful export poten
tial.” “Roadmap” for removing barriers for 2017-2018 will be developed for the next meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council. Its implementation will stimulate entrepreneurial activity and ensure the implementation of the principle of four “free
doms.” Particular attention will be paid to work on non-discrimination in admission to public procurement and the fight against discriminatory forms of taxation in the EAEU countries. Karine Minasyan, member of the Board (Minister) for Internal Markets, Informatization, Information and Communication Technologies of the EEC Karine Minasyan noted that it is necessary to abandon the practice in which local enterprises can be exempted from paying certain fees, while entrepreneurs from other states of the Union are unreasonably taxed with certain other payments for the import of food products or industrial goo
ds. The EAEU will develop a digital transformation program. This will accelerate the formation of the post-industrial economy of the Union. By
the end of the year, the main directions for the implementation of the digital agenda until 2025 will be prepared. Four key development vectors have been identified to accelerate the digitization of the economy. For more details see: https://goo.gl/WwJxu8 For the implementation of this program, it is proposed to use the mechanism of public-privat
e partnership. One of the first pilot projects in this area could be a labeling system for a number of goods and products, which ensures transparency and traceability throughou
t the Union. The Prime Ministers approved the ECE report on the monitoring of the regulatory impact assessment (RIA) of draft decisions of the Commission, which may have an impact on the business environment. 
The members of the Intergovernmental Council were provided with information on the effectiveness of the EEC’s interaction with the business and expert community in 2016. It was noted that last year, on 34 draft decisions of the Commission that passed public discussion, business representatives and experts expressed 268 comments and proposals. 210 of them (78.4% of the total) were taken into account in further work. 
In addition, within the framework of the monitoring, draft decisions of the Commission were assessed to identify clauses or provisions that provide for excessive restrictions or prohibitions for entrepreneurs, which lead to unreasonable costs and an increase in administrative costs of business, and also create barriers to the free movement of goods, services, capital and labor. forces on t
he territory of the Union. The Commission informed the Prime Ministers of the work to create in the countries of the Union an effective mechanism of “single window”, which will reduce the administrative costs of business and s
implify foreign trade. All EAEU states have implemented certain elements of the “single window” system, such as electronic declaration or e-licensing, interdepartmental information systems operate. They facilitate the interaction of entrepreneurs with authorities. However, this is only part of the job. 
Following the discussion of this issue, the members of the Intergovernmental Council recommended to actively involve businesses in the formation of the single window mechanism, accelerate the transition to the use of electronic documents, ensure the unification and mutual recognition of documents required for foreign economic
activity. An agreement was signed on the voluntary approval of specific subsidies in relation to industrial goods. To implement the document, the EEC receives new powers. I
n accordance with the agreement, a member state of the EAEU, which wants to provide subsidies to certain enterprises or sectors of its economy, may apply to the EEC with a request to agree on this decision. If the Com
mission considers that the provision of such a subsidy complies with the specified admissibility criteria, other countries of the Union will not be able to require the introductio
n of compensatory measures. In addition, the EAEU countries will be able to apply to the Commission for an investigation if one of the Union states provides subsidies that cause them economic damage. The decisions of the EEC will be binding. The int
roduction of such procedures into the practice of the Commission increases the transparency and validity of decision-making to support certain enterprises and industries, contributes to the formation of rules and regulations of fair competition.
The procedure for organizing joint research and development work in the field AIC was approved by the members of the Intergovernmental Council. Joint development is understood as participation in research or design work of at least two member states of the Union. The document
will expand cooperation between scientific institutions and enterprises of the Union countries, increase the efficiency and competitiveness of the agro-industrial complex, ensure the transfer of technologies and innovations, will contribute to the formation of a strategy of scientific and technical development within the entire Eurasian Economic Union.
The list of joint projects will be formed based on the proposals of the EAEU countries. At present, the Commission is discussing the first proposals corresponding to the priority directions of development of the agro-industrial complex. A list of R&D for the period up to 2020 has been determined on 14 priority topics, including various areas of crop and livestock production, aquaculture, veterinary medicine, e
tc. An order has been adopted to ensure the preparation and conduct of national censuses in the EAEU countries. This will allow to bring the used census methodologies closer together, ensure correct data comparison and identify trends in the development of society and the state of the economies of the Union coun
tries. The next meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council will be held on August 14 in Astana (Republic of Kazakhstan).

Source: http://www.eurasiancommission.org