26 – 27 September 2019 in Nursultan the international research conference and closed expert session “Trends in integration processes: challenges and opportunities” took place. The conference was organized by the Eurasian Integration Institute (Kazakhstan).
The conference participants discussed the theoretical and practical aspects of integration processes within the EAEU and the EU. The following issues were discussed in particular: Kazakhstan in the system of integration processes, integration processes within the EAEU, global integration processes and their prospects.
The event was attended by experts from Germany, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Kazakhstan, as well as representatives of government bodies of the Republic of Kazakhstan, doctoral students and undergraduates. The conference and the closed expert meeting were attended by Yuri Kofner, junior economist, MIWI – Institute for Market Integration and Economic Policy.
Yuri Kofner presented the results of his study on the topic “5 years of the EAEU: was it possible to create a single commodity market?”. According to the expert, “in the period from 2015 to 2018, the trade in goods within the EAEU increased by more than 1/5, and significant “ trade creation effects” were noted in the early stages of integration. Moreover, in 2018, the EAEU received a modern customs code”. “However,” the economist believes, “these relative successes were offset by continued tariff exclusions and ongoing trade disputes between the member states, as well as by unilateral Russian counter-sanctions. These obstacles de facto created a “two-tier customs union” and distorted the trade policy of the Union. More importantly, there was no increase in the share of trade within the EAEU compared to trade with the rest of the world”.