Ukraine to participate in Eurasian Economic Commission

The Russian and Ukrainian governments will sign a memorandum enabling Ukraine to participate in all formats of the Eurasian Economic Commission and the Higher Economic Council, Russian Federation First Vice Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov announced on May 29 at the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in Astana. The participation doesn’t entail any observer status, as requested by the Ukrainian government for the Customs Union, since it doesn’t exist on a legal basis, he said. Such a status could emerge with the launch of the Eurasian Union in 2015 but wouldn’t be worth pursuing, he said. Ukraine will participate in the codification of all documents forming the universal rules of the Eurasian Economic Union.

Zenon Zawada: Reports surfaced in the Ukrainian media that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych alleged claimed the memorandum will create an observer status for Ukraine in the Customs Union, the apparent precursor to the Eurasian Economic Commission. That claim wasn’t confirmed by the Russian side and it’s not the first time that there were conflicting claims about Ukraine’s observer status. What’s most important is that the outlined participation in these Moscow-based organizations won’t interfere with the requirements of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement. The memorandum – that, in its essence, provides for observer status in a Moscow-based supranational structure on a de facto basis without the official status – should be interpreted as a foreign policy victory for the Yanukovych administration. The success lies in placating the impatient Russians for another three years without capitulating into taking full membership in the Customs Union or a similar structure.