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Eurasian Economic Union - a regional empire for Armenia

05 December 2014 [11:00] - TODAY.AZ

/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

Armenia will concede its sovereignty and shake its relations with the World Trade Organization by joining the Eurasian Economic Union, according to Hrant Bagratyan, former Head of the Armenian government.

Economist Bagratyan believes that Armenia will integrate into a regional empire, as model of the EEU resembles those kind of union.

"There is an exchange in all empires. But tell me, who and how will exchange within the union? This union cannot survive without Ukraine, food and raw material. I feel responsible to warn about it," he said.

Bagratyan said Armenia's decision to join the EEU, which was formerly called Customs Union, is illogical given the customs duties provided by the alliance.

"Our country agrees to enter a union, where an average customs duties is 8 percent, instead of keeping its 2 percent duties and it's out of logic," he noted, saying the missed possibilities will be more than benefits after being an EEU member.

Armenia will be the fourth member-state at the Eurasian Economic Union on January 1, 2015, following the final ratification by its parliament. President Serzh Sargsyan emerged as harbinger of an unexpected decision when he revealed his desire to bond his country with the Russia-lead alliance on September 3, ignoring the three years of work with the European Union. The EEU member-states Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan gave the OK for the post-Soviet state's membership at the economic alliance in Minsk, on October 10. Now, the country is just a step back from being a full member of the EEU, which sparks ambiguous public opinion in the country.

Bagratyan said the EEU member-states faced sharp decline in their economic growth following their membership at the union between the years of 2010 and 2014. He presented the economic indicators of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, recorded after being members of the alliance.

According to Bagratyan, the economic growth in Belarus fell from 7.7 percent to 1.2 percent, while the Russian economy saw a decline from 4.5 percent to 0.8 percent and the economic growth in Kazakhstan dropped from 7.3 percent to 3.9 percent.

He warned the authorities to take those figures into consideration before sanctioning the final decision on the EEU integration.

Bagratyan's information on the economies of the EEU member-states obviously proves an economic crisis within the union. Russia is suffering from the harsh western sanctions and isolation, being punished for its actions in the Crimea. The Russian ruble hit the lowest rate of all times against the dollar and euro, which triggers an inevitable downfall in the Russian economy. The northern giant's problems cannot bypass the EEU given its great influence on the union. So, the member-states face the similar challenges with Russia, since their economy should water the same mill within the alliance.

Head of the Yerevan press-club Boris Navasardyan said the EEU would not be kept in existence for a long time.

“Armenia will face the most serious problems namely within the EEU, because the union is not ready to exist," he noted.

Armenia could keep its sovereignty within the EEU only by means of democracy, freedom and following the European values, according to Navasardyan.

URL: http://www.today.az/news/regions/137832.html

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