EAEU - The Times Of Central Asia

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Kazakhstan Sports Anticipates Influx of Russian and Belarusian Athletes

Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament, the Mazhilis, has approved in its first reading a bill on physical culture and sports that would ban the funding of foreign athletes (legionnaires) from the state budget and national companies with government stakes. However, even if this bill is enacted, Kazakh sports teams will retain a legal avenue to invite athletes from Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) countries using public funds. For the first time, Kazakhstan’s national legislature is proposing a provision prohibiting the use of state funds to finance athletes who are not citizens of Kazakhstan, with the goal of prioritizing Kazakh athletes in terms of both sports representation and financial support. Minister of Tourism and Sports Yerbol Myrzabasynov has also suggested setting a cap on state funding for professional sports clubs, which would vary by sport according to national priorities. “The freed funds will be redirected towards children’s and youth sports, including boarding schools, youth sports schools, sports reserves, and facility upgrades,” Myrzabasynov explained. The bill was approved in the first reading. Currently, government funding for sports clubs in Kazakhstan comes from two main sources. Teams competing internationally, such as the Barys hockey team in the Continental Hockey League, the Astana basketball team in the VTB United League, and the Astana cycling team in the World Tour, receive support from the Samruk-Kazyna fund. Other teams in soccer, hockey, basketball, and volleyball competing in Kazakhstan’s national championships are funded by local budgets, with Astana’s soccer team - which also receives sponsorship from the Samruk-Kazyna fund - being the sole exception. Should the bill pass, these teams will need to rely on Kazakh athletes — or athletes from EAEU countries such as Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan. The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, enacted in January 2015, promotes the free movement of services, goods, capital, and labor across member states, ensuring equal labor rights and remuneration for citizens of EAEU countries. This treaty means that Kazakh clubs cannot restrict funding for athletes from EAEU nations without breaching international commitments. In Kazakh soccer, for instance, EAEU athletes are not counted as foreign players in the Premier League, a policy instituted after the Kazakhstan Football Federation set a limit on foreign players several years ago, capping each team’s roster at eight foreign players per season. Athletes from Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, however, are treated as domestic players due to Kazakhstan’s international obligations. This arrangement stems from Kazakhstan’s Law on Legal Acts, which stipulates that ratified international treaties take precedence over national laws. Therefore, if the bill banning foreign athletes' funding from the state budget is fully enacted, EAEU athletes will remain exempt from this ban. The bill must still pass through a second reading in the Mazhilis, two readings in the Senate, and obtain presidential approval before it becomes law. Questions remains as to whether Kazakh sports clubs will use this provision to hire athletes from EAEU countries, given potential legal challenges. Local administrations (akimats) who would be affected by any restrictions on funding for...

EAEU Economy Eurasian Economic Union Parliament Diplomacy CIS

Uzbekistan Rejects Military Alliances and Maintains Observer Role in EAEU

At the opening of the Week of International Partnership Initiatives in Tashkent, the first deputy speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis, Akmal Saidov, stated that Uzbekistan will not join any military formations and will remain an observer state in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Responding to a question on whether Uzbekistan would compromise its sovereignty to cooperate more closely with other countries, Saidov announced: “The first article of our constitution states that Uzbekistan is a sovereign state. If we are talking about joining any paramilitary defense structures and organizations, then no, we will not allow it. We will never send our men [overseas] on military missions, including peacekeeping missions. There will be no foreign military bases in our territory." Saidov also emphasized that Uzbekistan’s current status as an observer in the EAEU is the most appropriate for the country. As head of the parliamentary commission tasked with studying Uzbekistan’s potential accession to the EAEU, Saidov asserted that, after reviewing over a thousand documents, observer status better aligns with Uzbekistan’s interests. He further explained that Kazakhstan had gained minimal benefit from joining the EAEU and that the new Constitution strengthens and strictly follows the main principles of Uzbekistan’s foreign policy. Uzbekistan received observer status in the EAEU on December 11, 2020, during an online summit of the High Eurasian Economic Council, attended by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Migrants EAEU migrants rights Russia

Kyrgyz Prime Minister: Labor Migrants From EAEU Should Not Be Discriminated Against on Territory of the Union

Speaking at a meeting of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Yerevan, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov said that tightening migration laws should not apply to citizens from EAEU countries. According to Akylbek Japarov, increasing trade between EAEU countries and developing cooperative ties is the basis for sustainable economic growth. However, the main participants in any integration are people, so the attitude toward the citizens of the EAEU countries in any state of the Union should be the same. “Such a level of integration has been reached, when business and citizens of member states understand and deeply believe in the unity of the economic union (EAEU), and respectively require the same attitude to themselves being on the territory of any of the EAEU countries,” said the head of the Cabinet. Therefore, according to Japarov, the leadership of the EAEU countries should pay special attention when tightening migration legislation and adjust their attitudes toward migrants from union countries. Following the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall near Moscow, the Russian authorities significantly tightened migration legislation. Thousands of citizens, mainly from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, were subjected to forced deportation. The restrictions also affected Kyrgyz citizens, although the country is a member of the EAEU. “We proceed from the fact that legislative initiatives should not contradict the norms of the EAEU treaty; that is, they should not apply to our working citizens and members of their families. Both in the documents initiated by state structures and in the public space, it is necessary to separate the rights of citizens of the EAEU countries from those of countries that are not part of it,” Japarov emphasized. According to official data, about half a million Kyrgyz citizens work in Russia. The unofficial figure may be two or three times higher.

Economy Russia Economic Integration Economic Cooperation Wages EAEU

Kyrgyzstan’s Wages Lowest Among EAEU Countries

Kyrgyzstan has the lowest average monthly wage among its fellow Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) members, an economic integration bloc that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia. According to the Eurasian Economic Commission, the EAEU’s governing body, in January–June 2024, the average monthly nominal wage in Kyrgyzstan was $398, in Belarus $666, in Armenia $704, in Kazakhstan $875, and in Russia $922. Compared to the same period in 2023, wages increased in all EAEU member states with the highest growth recorded in Belarus (113%) and Russia (109.4%). Lower wages in Kyrgyzstan are however, somewhat compensated by the cost of food. In a survey conducted by Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry, it was found that the price of comparable food products in the country are 13.59% lower than in Kazakhstan and 16.17% lower than in Russia.

EAEU Farmers Agricultural Export Agriculture

Kyrgyz Farmers Unite Into Cooperatives To Maximize Export Potential

This year, 47 new agricultural cooperatives appeared in Kyrgyzstan — a total of 741 associations. Experts say that merging into large farms will allow farmers to increase yields and the export potential of their products. In 2023, Kyrgyzstan exported more than 850,000 tons of agricultural products — vegetables, fruits, milk, and meat. More than 40% of these exports went to the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). However, to increase the export potential and the geography of supplies, it is necessary to move away from so-called "small-scale production." When farmers produce goods in small batches, experts believe the way out of this situation can be the cooperation of farms. "The issue of creating cooperatives is a sore point in Kyrgyzstan's farming sector. For over 10 years, we have been saying there is a problem — small-scale commodity production. According to official data, we have more than 460,000 farmers in the country, but, unfortunately, there is no volume of production," Rustam Baltalbayev, Executive Director of the Association of Agroindustrial Complex (AAC), told The Times of Central Asia. Baltabayev said an agricultural co-op is the most convenient form of doing business in agriculture. It solves the problem of wholesale supplies abroad. According to the AAK, agrarians in Kyrgyzstan's southern regions — producers of white rice and bell peppers — are actively joining agricultural cooperatives. "This mechanism, in my opinion, is the most profitable and convenient regarding agricultural development. It is only necessary to finalize the legal forms so that large holdings could join associations," he noted.

EAEU Strategy Economy Agriculture Export/Import China Investments

Ten Years of the EAEU: Trade Wars Rumble On Against Backdrop of GDP Growth

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) recently celebrated its first significant anniversary. According to the numbers, the years of integration have positively impacted the member states' economies; however, there are serious trade wars in the bloc, and some entrepreneurs fear the collapse of entire industries. The agreement on creating the EAEU was concluded on May 29, 2014, in Astana by the presidents of Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus. Later, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joined the union, whilst Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Cuba hold observer state status. The member states initially emphasized the strictly economic nature of the union, and continuously refused to politicize it. For Kazakhstan, membership in the EAEU is advantageous, because it simplifies exporting raw materials to foreign markets. In addition, the union has unified customs regulations and duty-free trade. According to official sources, the GDP growth rate of all EAEU countries in 2023 amounted to 3.8%, which is higher than global GDP growth. In Armenia, growth is 8.7%, in Kyrgyzstan 6.2%, in Kazakhstan 5.1%, in Belarus 3.9%, and in Russia 3.6%. Mutual trade between member states has almost doubled since the union's inception, with foreign trade increasing by 60%. Kazakhstan has increased trade turnover with EAEU countries 1.7 times, and foreign exports have doubled. According to the Bureau of National Statistics of Kazakhstan, foreign trade turnover for January-March 2024 increased to $31.2 billion, of which the share of trade with EAEU countries amounted to 19.6%, reaching $6.1 billion. Russia's share in the volume of Kazakhstan's external trade turnover (within the EAEU) exceeds 90%. Nevertheless, creating a common harmonized market intended to copy that of the European Union has not yet been possible. A regulation financial system, logistics system, efficient electricity market, and other projects have yet to be implemented. In addition, the EAEU is often shaken by trade wars, and producers suffer from price dumping. Kazakhstani businessmen and farmers have repeatedly complained that the expansion of cheap Russian goods threatens their livelihoods. This problem is particularly acute in the production of eggs, chicken, and dairy products, whilst Kazakhstan is critically dependent on Russian imports in some sectors, especially food. For example, when Russia imposed quotas on sugar exports or otherwise restricted sales, the cost of these products in Kazakhstan tripled in 2022. As soon as Russia removed these restrictions, the price quickly adjusted. Comparable fluctuations are also observed in other sectors. Due to international sanctions, dairy producers from Russia and Belarus redirected their supplies to Kazakhstan and started dumping prices to take over the Kazakh market. In this regard, some experts proposed that the border be closed to these products to preserve the local dairy industry. At the same time, analysts referred to Russia's frequent bans on the export of certain goods, mainly wheat and sugar. Such measures are not conducive to integration, but rural producers believe that Kazakhstani officials cannot effectively defend their interests in the EAEU market, even though they hold significant positions in the integration body. This year, Kazakhstani entrepreneurs again complained that Russia and Belarus were flooding...