25 -27 September 22019 in Bishkek (Kyrgyz Republic) the “Eurasian Week – 2019 ″ business forum of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) took place. This year, the business forum was held at the “Ala-Archa” state residence of the Kyrgyz Republic and was dedicated to the fifth anniversary of the EAEU Treaty, the 10th anniversary of the EurAsEC customs union and the 25th anniversary of the idea of Eurasian integration. The “Eurasian Week” business forum is organized by the EAEU member state and the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), and since 2016 has been held annually in one of the capital cities of the EAEU.
At the invitation of the EEC, Yuri Kofner, junior economist, Institute for Market Integration and Economic Policy took part in the sections of the forum. One of the main topics discussed by the participants were the barriers in the internal market of the Union and ways to eliminate them.
According to Kofner, “despite a systematic mechanism put in place to remove existing obstacles (barriers, exceptions and limitations) in the common domestic market of the Eurasian Economic Union, the EEC is struggling with a growing number of new emerging obstacles (from 61 in 2016 to 71 in III 2019). The effectiveness of the Commission also suffers from a lack of supranational competences and political will on the part of national governments that are in no hurry to open their markets and to provide equal conditions for each other”.
According to the economist, “progress in this regard can be achieved by carrying out the following actions over the next five years: 1. by strengthening the competencies, financing and staffing of the Commission; 2. by supporting and expediting intergovernmental consultations between relevant national authorities; 3. by reinforcing the role of the EAEU Court and giving it more authority; 4. by autonomous efforts of the member states to ensure liberalization and competition of their respective national markets”.