Alyaksandr Lukashenka, speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St Petersburg, said there are a number of problematic issues within the Eurasian Economic Union.
In particular, he said not all countries are ready for full participation in a single market, and difficulties persist with the free movement of goods in mutual trade.
“No matter how much we talk here about the positive aspects — and they do exist — we are revising the basic agreements of 2014 enshrined in the Treaty on the Union, postponing the deadlines for forming common energy markets, markets for medicines and medical devices. There is an acknowledgment that not all countries are ready to join the single market, and there are problems with the unhindered movement of goods in mutual trade. New ones are being added — unilateral closures of national markets are now being carried out not only through traditional methods, as was the case before: bans on imports and exports, licensing. Digitalization tools are also being adapted for this purpose,” he said.
Belarus, he said, initiated discussions on so-called digital barriers, but no significant progress has yet been achieved in this area.
“The Belarusian side is initiating the resolution of the issue of digital barriers at least at the level of recommendations, but so far we have not made much progress here either. The process of creating and implementing joint projects and programs is faltering, even though life itself is opening up new areas where pooling efforts could yield a greater effect for the economy and peoples. It is enough to mention information and communication technologies, artificial intelligence, electric transport, microelectronics, and robotics.
At the same time, agreed decisions by countries are increasingly taking the form of reviews, reports, recommendations, or even just the elaboration of issues. At our previous meeting, we agreed that the Chair of the Board would present reports on the implementation of the 2020–2025 strategy. Instead, the information was presented as part of a general speech by the head of the Commission about five years of work. The chair should, almost in passing, separated by commas, note the results. We spent ten times more time just discussing wage levels and commissions over these five years, even though this is one of the most important issues,” he added.
Lukashenka called for a return to more active practical work on the integration agenda and noted that the relevant goals had been enshrined in documents on the development of the Eurasian Economic Union through 2030 and 2045.
“Five years ago we agreed on a declaration through 2030 and 2045, on work toward integration, on the same readiness to achieve the goals announced when the Treaty was signed. Gradually they are fading into the background, but they need to be addressed. If so, then let us return to work with the same enthusiasm. Now is precisely the time when countries are uniting in order to act more purposefully and actively. Belarus has exactly this mindset, and therefore I call on all of you to act toward integration — this is the essence of our Union,” he said.