— A commission on the raw materials of the EAU export­er countries to coordinate and endorse the prices and quotas for exported raw materials and fuel and energy resources, an appropriate inter-state agreement to be signed by the member countries; coordination of policy in the mining and sale of gold and other precious metals is to be envisaged;

— A fund for economic and technological cooperation formed with EAU members' contributions. The fund will fi­nance promising science-intensive economic, scientific, and technological programs and render assistance in the solution of a wide range of problems, including legal, tax, financial, and ecological issues;

— A commission on inter-state financial-industrial groups and joint ventures; — an EAU international investment bank;

— An inter-state EAU court of arbitration on economicproblems, to resolve conflicts on a legal basis and to imposesanctions;

— A commission on the introduction of a clearance mon­etary unit (transfer ruble).

It is proposed to implement a number of measures to preserve the potential achieved in the previous decades and to enhance integration in the field of science, culture, and edu­cation:

— The setting up of common EAU research centers to carry out fundamental research in contemporary knowledge;

— The setting up of an EAU fund for the development of scientific research to unite the scientific collectives from vari­ous countries;

— The setting up of a committee on links in the field of culture, science, and education under the Council of the Heads of EAU Governments;

— Encouragement of the formation of non-governmental associations in the sphere of culture, education, and science;

— The setting up of a grants fund under the EAU Exec­utive Committee.

It is proposed to conclude the following accords on de­fense within the EAU framework:

— A treaty on joint actions to strengthen the national Armed Forces of the EAU member countries and to protect EAU external borders.

The EAU will establish a unified defense space to coordi­nate defense activities:

The formation of joint peace-making EAU forces to main­tain stability and eliminate conflicts within the member countries and between them. The sending of peace-making forces to conflict areas on EAU territory - with the agreement of EAU member states and in accordance with international legal norms;

The tabling of joint proposals by EAU member coun­tries at international organizations, including the United Na­tions Security Council, on lending EAU joint contingents the status of a peace-making force;

— The setting up of an inter-state center on problems of nuclear disarmament attended by representatives of interna­tional organizations.

— All EAU states except Russia maintain their nuclear-free status.

In the area of ecology, the following mechanisms must be formed in the nearest future, according to the EAU project:

— An ecological fund under the EAU Council of Heads of State, to realize ecological programs within the EAU frame­work, to be financed by all member states;

— Coordination of actions with international organiza­tions to reduce the extent of environmental pollution;

— Endorsement of short- and long-term programs for major problems of restoration of the environment and liquida­tion of the consequences of ecological disasters (the Aral Sea, Chernobyl, the Semipalatinsk nuclear testing ground);

— The endorsement of an inter-state EAU agreement on storing nuclear waste.

The Eurasian Union of States is thus based on three principal provisions:

— Joint supranational coordinating organs for the man­agement of the economy, defense, and foreign policy;

— A unified economic space;

— A common defense complex.

The supranational institutions include the highest organ of political leadership of the Union - the council of heads of state and heads of government; the highest consultative organ, the parliament; the councils of foreign and defense ministers;

And the interstate executive committee - a permanently func­tioning executive and controlling body whose head is appointed by the heads of government for a term which they them­selves define.

As for the unified economic space, it may be built, e.g., on such a basis as coordinating economic policies and manda­tory programs; a common legislative basis regulating relations between economic agents; a supranational currency on the Eu­ropean ECU model; coordination of direct links between en­terprises; the setting up of joint and mixed industrial-financial groups, transport firms, trade houses, and exchanges. The de­fense and foreign trade complexes may be just as effective. The EAU as represented by its executive committee must receive the status of an authorized representative in all the leading interstate organizations of the world.

The practical realization of the provisions of the EAU project in the bilateral Kazakhstan!-Russian relations is excel­lent proof of the viability of this program.

On January 20, 1995, a package of extremely important integration documents was signed during the working meet­ing between presidents Nazarbayev and Yeltsin. This package included a declaration on expanding and deepening Kazakh-stani-Russian cooperation and an agreement on the Customs Union, which was also signed by Belorussia. Both of these were discussed in detail before. This last agreement opens the way to the establishment of a unified customs space to be followed by a unified economic space, as envisioned in the EAU project.

With the setting up of the Customs Union, the econom­ic cooperation of the three countries is built on the principles of free, non-discriminatory trade; a common market of com­modities, services, capital, and labor; and close interaction in the production, investment, and financial spheres.

At present, the first stage in the formation of the Cus­toms Union is largely completed. The work done by the three sides is generally recognized to be an important element of the realization of the foundations of the Economic Union and the formation of the common market of CIS countries.

The legal acts on tariff and non-tariff regulation of for­eign trade have been unified. Kazakhstan and Russia have signed an agreement on unified control of customs services. An agreement has also been reached on the identity of trade procedures in both countries in relation to third nations, and unified procedures have been introduced on the customs sta­tistics on foreign trade and customs registration of commod­ities subject to excise. Customs controls on railroads and passenger air traffic between the two countries are lifted step by step.

A treaty has been signed between the Republic of Kaza­khstan and the Russian Federation on joint efforts on the pro­tection of outer borders, the term “outer borders” taken to mean the sectors of the border between our countries and the states that are not part of the CIS. The edict of the president of Kazakhstan dated Septem­ber 19, 1995 On the Lifting of Customs Control on the Bor­der between the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Russian Fed­eration concludes the first stage in the formation of the Cus­toms Union and orders the implementation of joint customs controls on the Kazakhstan and Russian sectors of the outer borders of the Customs Union.

At the second stage of the formation of Kazakhstani-Russian-Belorussian economic efforts to form a customs union, the most important areas of cooperation are a closer coordina­tion of economic reforms; harmonization of civil and econom­ic legislation; unification of currency, tax, and price regulation by the state with the aim of leveling out the economic and legal conditions for the activities of commodity producers within a unified customs space; working out coordinated positions of the members of the Customs Union in relations with third countries and international organizations. At the meeting of heads of CIS countries in November 1995, three more countries stated their desire to join the Cus­toms Union: Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Later, only Kyrgyzstan went through with the necessary procedures and entered the Customs Union.

Another example of collaboration in the field of integra­tion is the agreement on the Baikonur space vehicle-launching site, which makes it possible to use this great scientific and technological facility in the interests of Russia and Kazakhstan, as well as documents on the issues of citizenship signed by the presidents of Kazakhstan and Russian.

Let us consider in somewhat greater detail the problems of citizenship, of which the solution on a bilateral basis was also outlined in the draft project of the EAU.

Issues of citizenship became particularly prominent at the time of the emergence and building of sovereign indepen­dent states after the disintegration of the USSR, when tens of millions of former Soviet citizens overnight ended up outside their "historical homelands." This problem is as topical for Kazakhstan and Russia as for other CIS countries. More than that, it often figures as one of the most important issues of bilateral relations with Russia.

The more acute aspects of this problem were lifted as a result of the signing in January 1995 by the presidents of Russia and Kazakhstan of a treaty on the legal status of citizens of both countries living on the territory of the other state and of an agreement on simplified procedures for acquiring citizen­ship in moving from one country to another. Well-known specialists from the two countries worked fruitfully on these documents. Authoritative Kazakhstan! and Russian politicians and jurists believe that these are innovative agreements without parallel in the world, and they are a fairly rare example of regulating bilateral issues on a civilized basis. The importance of these agreements both for progressive development of our countries and for normal life of the citizens of Kazakhstan and Russia cannot be exaggerated.

These documents envisage the introduction of maximally simplified procedures for acquiring citizenship and for move­ment without visas; they also offer possibilities for contract work and military service; assert the rights of possession, use, and disposal of property; create conditions for exchange of currency and transfer of sums of money by individuals and corporate entities of Kazakhstan and Russia; and many other provisions which reliably protect the rights and interests of the citizens of the two countries.

Yet another sphere in which combining the efforts of all the interested parties is needed is the legal status of the Caspian Sea.

The position of the Republic of Kazakhstan on this issue is based on the need for an early drafting and signing of a convention on the legal status of the Caspian Sea, of which a draft was worked out by the Kazakhstan foreign ministry and sent out to all the interested states as early as March 1994. Unfortunately, there has been no response to this initiative for quite a long time now, and the agreement on regional cooper­ation on the Caspian Sea issue is still at a standstill.

At the same time preserving this unique object of nature is a task that the present generation must be worthy of.

The events of the recent years thus prove conclusively the need to proceed to a new level of integration, which will fully conform to the vital needs of the peoples. International experi­ence shows that any interstate association goes through various states in its development, becoming enriched in the process with new forms of cooperation. The Eurasian Union should be seen as just one of such transitional forms capable of optimiz­ing the solution of the problems facing the Commonwealth.

From the time of the publication of the draft EAU project, politicians and scholars have been paying close attention to it. Four major scientific and practical conferences were devoted to this subject, as were hundreds of publications in Kazakh­stan, Russia, and other states. Politicians, scholars, and dip­lomats continue to study the EAU project with great attention.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 ñòð.