Sergey Saenko, international observer

At the beginning of January of this year, the parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan (ROK) immediately ratified 106 amendments to the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU or Union). The latter was signed on May 29, 2014 in Astana and came into force on January 1, 2015. This agreement is the fundamental document of the EAEU, and it is based on generally accepted principles of international law in the process of building and developing a common market. It reflects the four freedoms – movement of goods, services, capital and labor. It also provides for the implementation of a coordinated, coordinated or unified policy in the sectors of the economy defined by the Treaty on the Union.

The January amendments of the Parliament of Kazakhstan primarily concern the recognition of educational documents for teachers and lawyers. It is believed that this innovation will provide greater freedom of labor migration for holders of such specialties. Kazakhstan’s amendments of January 11 also address issues of macroeconomic policy and foreign trade activities. It should be noted here that the introduction of amendments and additions to the Treaty on the EAEU is provided for by the parties to the procedure, is completely legal and corresponds to Article 115 of the document, which is called: “Amendments to the Treaty”.

Moreover, these amendments develop the directions for improving the mechanisms for uniting the states of Eurasia, outlined in December 2023 at a meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (SEEC) in St. Petersburg. Astana believes that it would be nice if all other member states of the Union – Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Russia – contributed to this constructive process.

As for Kazakhstan’s vision for the further development of the EAEU, its main points were explained by the President of the Republic Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, speaking last May in Moscow at the regular meeting of the EAEU. “Kazakhstan’s vision for the development of the Union is the consistent increase in the economic potential of our countries. That is, projects, technologies, jobs, taxes. I am absolutely confident that through joint efforts we will successfully complete all the tasks assigned to us and will lead the Eurasian Economic Union to a higher development trajectory,” Tokayev said.

As the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan believes, another important direction in further integration development could be the creation of new international transport arteries. “I am confident that our economic union will ultimately become a link between Europe and Asia, the global South and the North. We welcome the intentions of the Russian Federation to form corridors in the direction of China, India, Pakistan, Iran, the states of the Middle East and Southeast Asia. I believe that there is a mature understanding of the need to develop the North-South transport corridor in conjunction with the Trans-Caspian route,” President Tokayev emphasized.

At the same time, he added: “In this regard, Kazakhstan will act as a reliable logistics hub of the EAEU, using all its capabilities and resources.” Also, according to the leader of the Republic of Kazakhstan, it would be possible to consider the possibility of joint investments in the construction of infrastructure in the sea and dry ports of Iran and Turkmenistan, which “will significantly expand the geography of exports of the Union member states and strengthen logistics capabilities.”

It should be noted that these statements by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev for cooperation of the Republic of Kazakhstan within the framework of the Union were not given by chance. And here’s the reason. Recently, voices have begun to be heard in Kazakhstan criticizing the country’s participation in the EAEU. And then Since the beginning of Russia’s Special Military Operation, “hot heads” from among experts and former officials are generally calling on the authorities to withdraw from the Union and the CSTO. For example, on February 25, 2022, a Petition was published on the independent portal ALASH online. It says, in particular: “We demand that the authorities of Kazakhstan withdraw from the CSTO and the EAEU, and also stop all integration processes with the Russian Federation! Otherwise, with any support from Russia, our country will face the same isolation from the world as Russia itself at the moment…” By the way, this petition collected more than 75 thousand votes.

Yes, for Kazakhstan with a population of 20 million people, the number of those who are “in favor” of leaving the EAEU and the CSTO is negligible. Serious experts and political scientists generally believe that you should not pay much attention to dubious petitions on the Internet, especially when the service allows you to cheat votes using fictitious pages on social networks. In their opinion, this is just another attempt to promote anti-Russian hysteria in the country. At the same time, this petition raised a new wave of discussions in local media and social networks on the value of the EAEU for Kazakhstan and the consequences of the republic’s exit from the Union. And there is no way to ignore this fact.

Indeed, this is not the first time the topic of Kazakhstan’s exit from the EAEU has surfaced in the Kazakh media. Over the almost 10 years of the Union’s existence, local experts have repeatedly reminded that from an economic point of view, the EAEU is unprofitable for the republic. The original idea – to significantly increase sales markets through exports to the countries of the Union – has actually not been successful over the past decade. However, it is worth mentioning that here we are talking more about trade relations with Russia, and not with other countries of the Union. After all, it is necessary to recognize that Kazakhstan has been and remains, first of all, a buyer, and to a lesser extent a seller.

Judging by trade statistics for 2022, Russia is in first place on the list of the largest importers of goods to Kazakhstan. Its share is 34.7%. Of the $50 billion in imports, $17.3 billion comes from our country. Even China is in second place with 21.9%. Moreover, last year Kazakhstan only strengthened its position within the EAEU, including in trade with Russia, which approached a record level of $25 billion.

Let us note that within the Union, trade is successfully developing not only with our country. According to President Tokayev, during the activities of the EAEU, the trade turnover of the Republic of Kazakhstan with other member countries of the Union increased by 74%, while exports increased by 98%. The number of joint ventures with EAEU countries in Kazakhstan over the past decade has increased 2.4 times and amounted to almost 15 thousand. They operate in industry, construction, trade, services and other areas. So it is simply incorrect to talk about the disadvantages of having the Republic of Kazakhstan as part of the Union.

It is no secret that in modern conditions for Kazakhstan, the development of sustainable economic relations with external partners is an important vector of economic development. And the republic’s membership in the EAEU fully allows, while maintaining state sovereignty, to ensure closer and more harmonious economic cooperation and cooperation with partner countries in the Union. The EAEU in this context opens up wide opportunities and promising areas for growth of export potential, which ultimately affects the level of well-being of the residents of the republic.

Especially considering that by 2025 the Union plans to form a common financial market and common markets in the fields of electricity, gas, oil and petroleum products, which will create conditions for the stability of the energy system in the EAEU. Ultimately, all this will contribute to sustainable economic growth, the development of trade both between the member states of the Union and with third countries, the formation of an innovative and digital environment, improving the well-being and quality of life of citizens, and building mutually beneficial and equal cooperation with external partners.

All this fully applies to Kazakhstan, which can only benefit from membership in the EAEU. It is no coincidence that the President of the Republic, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, recently stated: “It is important to consistently and systematically realize the enormous potential of the EAEU for the benefit of our countries.” It is not difficult to assume that the head of state had Kazakhstan in mind first of all.