At present, there are six multi-lateral free trade areas in Europe , and one former free trade area in recent history. Note that there are also a number of bilateral free trade agreements between states and between trade blocks; and that some states participate in more than one free trade area.
The European Union (EU) has always operated as more than a free trade area with its predecessor, the European Economic Community (EEC) being founded as a customs union. The EU has free trade agreements to varying levels with most other European countries.
The EU shares its single market with three EFTA members via the European Economic Area agreement, and the remaining EFTA member—Switzerland—via bilateral agreements.
The European Union Customs Union is a customs union which consists of all the member states of the European Union and Turkey, San Marino, Monaco, Andorra and the UK territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia which are outside of the EU. In addition to allowing for free trade between states, the customs union imposes a common external tariff on all goods entering the area.
The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) was created in 1960 by the outer seven (as a looser alternative to the then-European Communities) but most of its membership has since joined the Communities/EU leaving only four countries (Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein) still party to the treaty. The United Kingdom is the only former EFTA member which is not currently part of the EU, following its withdrawal in 2020.
Following the fall of the Iron Curtain, two free trade areas were created in Central Europe, the Baltic Free Trade Area (BAFTA) and the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), in order to stabilise these countries for membership of the EU. With the 2004 EU enlargement, the original members of both of these have left these agreements and joined the EU.
CEFTA has expanded into southern Europe with members from the Western Balkans and Moldova. All of the new CEFTA countries are prospective members of the EU and hence EFTA is the only free trade area with a long-term future, as there are no immediate plans for these countries to change their present status. However, CEFTA may gain new members in the form of countries neighbouring the present EU. [1] [2]
On 10 October 2000, in Astana, the heads of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan signed the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community (entered into force on 30 May 2001), which called for the creation of a free trade regime among members.
In 2005, the Organization of Central Asian Cooperation (OCAC), an international organization that existed from 2002 to 2005, which aimed, among other things, to create a free trade area, whose members included Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Russia, was merged into the Eurasian Economic Community. In 2008, Uzbekistan withdrew from the Eurasian Economic Community.
On 23 February 2003 the presidents of Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Ukraine declared their intention to form a Single Economic Space, and on 19 September 2003 they signed an agreement of intent to guarantee four economic freedoms, including a free trade area. This agreement was named "Common Economic Zone" (CEZ) among Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation and Ukraine in the WTO's Regional Trade Agreements Information System. [3] In June 2006, this project was incorporated into the Eurasian Economic Community.
In August 2006, the Eurasian Economic Community decided on the establishment of the Customs Union between the three willing states - Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. Ukraine's position was to create a free trade area without restrictions and exemptions and conditions for the movement of capital, services and labor, but without devaluing its fiscal, customs and budgetary sovereignty and creating any supranational bodies.
In 2009, supranational integration bodies began their work. In Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, the Customs Union entered into force in July 2010, and the Single Economic Space, which provides for a free trade regime, entered into force on 1 January 2012.
EurAsEC Single Economic Space was superseded by the Eurasian Economic Space of the Eurasian Economic Union established by Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia on 1 January 2015. The current members of the EAEU are Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
The EAEU is designated as "Plurilateral" Agreement by the WTO's Regional Trade Agreements Information System [3]
On 15 April 1994, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of State in Moscow, the presidents of 12 countries, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed an Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area (Соглашение о создании зоны свободной торговли). The Agreement entered into force on 30 December 1994 for those countries that had completed ratification. As of 2023, the Agreement is fully in force for Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, while Russia and Turkmenistan have notified the application of the Agreement on a provisional basis. According to the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, no one has ceased participation in the Agreement, made reservations or suspended the application. [4]
The terms of the FTA allow member states to enter into the FTA agreements with other countries, as well as to join/create custom unions. [5] Like other Commonwealth of Independent States agreements, this agreement does not regulate relations with third countries and allows differentiated integration (aka à la carte and multi-speed Europe).
On 2 April 1999, in Moscow, the presidents of 11 countries, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine signed a Protocol on Amendments and Additions to the Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area of 15 April 1994 [6] (Протокол о внесении изменений и дополнений в Соглашение о создании зоны свободной торговли от 15 апреля 1994 года). Turkmenistan did not participate. The Protocol entered into force on 24 November 1999 for those countries that had completed ratification. As of 2023, the Protocol has entered into force for all countries, namely Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, except Russia, which remains a signatory but has not notified entry into force or provisional application. According to the executive committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, no one has ceased participation in the Protocol or suspended the application, while 1 reservation was made by Azerbaijan on non-application in relation to Armenia and 2 specific opinions were expressed by Georgia and Ukraine. [7]
The 2011 CIS FTA Treaty envisages that the 1994 agreement and the 1999 protocol no longer apply between its 8 participants (Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Moldova), however, among the rest of the countries, they continue to be applied.
International Trade Centre says the 1994 Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area signed by 12 CIS countries still continues to be used by Azerbaijan and Georgia in trade with other CIS countries except with Russia and Turkmenistan. Reportedly it is also used bilaterally between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan pending Tajikistan's ratification of Uzbekistan's accession to the 2011 CIS Free Trade Area Treaty. [8]
The WTO's Regional Trade Agreements Information System indicates Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as "Current signatories" and the Agreement is designated as "Plurilateral". [9]
The Commonwealth of Independent States had been negotiating a CIS multi-lateral free trade area since 1994 and in 2011 eight countries agreed to create a free trade area. These are; Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia and Moldova. In addition, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan form the Eurasian Economic Union, including a customs union and a single market.
On 20 September 2012 the Free Trade Area Treaty (Договор о зоне свободной торговли) of the Commonwealth of Independent States signed in St Petersburg on 18 October 2011 (the "CIS FTA") came into force for Russia, Belarus and Ukraine after completion of ratification. [10]
In 2013, the protocol on the application of the CIS FTA between Uzbekistan and the CIS FTA member states was signed as a bilateral document and without any reservations to the CIS FTA agreement. [11] It entered into force in 2014. [12] The Protocol on the application of the Treaty to Uzbekistan was signed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine, but entered into force for all countries except Tajikistan. [13]
In 2016, Russia and Ukraine have suspended the agreement with respect to each other. For Ukraine, this is the only multilateral FTA in which it participates (the DCFTA with the European Union is a de jure bilateral agreement).
The Treaty is designated as "Plurilateral" by the WTO's Regional Trade Agreements Information System. [3]
The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization established in 1997 [14] and free-trade area in Eastern Europe composed of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, and Moldova. [15]
The agreement on a Free Trade Area was signed in 2002. In 2017, additional agreements on a free-trade area were announced, but as of 2022 reportedly the FTA has not been ratified and has not entered into force. [16]
The WTO was notified only in 2017 and the Agreement is designated as "Plurilateral" and "In Force". According to the WTO database, the GUAM FTA agreement was signed in 2002 and entered into force in 2003. [3] International Trade Centre says there is no free trade area in operation with distinct rules from an Agreement on Creation of CIS Free Trade Area, was signed on 15 April 1994 by 12 CIS countries. [14] The database of agreements of the International Trade Centre does not indicate that a GUAM FTA agreement has been concluded, but it does indicate that the 1994 Agreement on CIS FTA is in force for Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. [17] [18] [19] [20] and the 1999 Agreement on CIS FTA version is listed as the current text of the FTA agreement. [6]
The Economic Cooperation Organization Trade Agreement or ECOTA is a preferential trade agreement reached on 17 July 2003 at the ECO summit in Islamabad whereby a preferential trade region was formed between the countries of Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. [21] As of 2008, the ECOTA is in effect. [22] According to the document ECO Vision 2025, the scope of ECOTA will be expanded from preferential trade to a free trade agreement. [23]
The Baltic Free Trade Area was a free trade agreement between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania that existed between 1994 and 2004.
BAFTA was created to help prepare the countries for their accession to the EU. Hence, BAFTA was created more as an initiative of the EU than out of a desire for Baltic states to trade between themselves: they were more interested in gaining access to the rest of the European markets. [24]
BAFTA's agreement was signed by the three states on 13 September 1993 and came into force on 1 April 1994. On 1 January 1997 the agreement was extended to cover trade in agricultural produce. On 1 May 2004, all three states joined the European Union, and BAFTA ceased to exist.
BAFTA was part of general co-operation between the three countries under the Baltic Assembly—modelled on Nordic co-operation (see Nordic Council). As well as the free trade area, they formed a common visa area. Leaders continue to meet regularly, however the assembly now focuses on international issues, including economic development, and military co-operation due to the proximity of Russia. [25]
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an area of 20,368,759 km2 (7,864,422 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 239,796,010. The CIS encourages cooperation in economic, political, and military affairs and has certain powers relating to the coordination of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security, including cross-border crime prevention.
Europe, the westernmost portion of Eurasia, is often divided into regions and subregions based on geographical, cultural or historical factors. Since there is no universal agreement on Europe's regional composition, the placement of individual countries may vary based on criteria being used. For instance, the Balkans is a distinct geographical region within Europe, but individual countries may alternatively be grouped into South-eastern Europe or Southern Europe.
A European Union Association Agreement or simply Association Agreement (AA) is a treaty between the European Union (EU), its Member States and a non-EU country that creates a framework for co-operation between them. Areas frequently covered by such agreements include the development of political, trade, social, cultural and security links.
The GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development is a regional organization of four post-Soviet states: Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova.
The politics of Europe deals with the continually evolving politics within the continent of Europe. It is a topic far more detailed than other continents due to a number of factors including the long history of nation states in the region as well as the modern day trend towards increased political unity amongst the European states.
The Eurasian Economic Community was a regional organisation between 2000 and 2014 which aimed for the economic integration of its member states. The organisation originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) on 29 March 1996, with the treaty on the establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community signed on 10 October 2000 in Kazakhstan's capital Astana by Presidents Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan, Askar Akayev of Kyrgyzstan, Vladimir Putin of Russia, and Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan. Uzbekistan joined the community on 7 October 2005, but later withdrew on 16 October 2008.
The post-Soviet states, also referred to as the former Soviet Union (FSU) or the former Soviet republics, are the independent sovereign states that emerged/re-emerged out of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Prior to their independence, they existed as Union Republics, which were the top-level constituents of the Soviet Union. There are 15 post-Soviet states in total: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Each of these countries succeeded their respective Union Republics: the Armenian SSR, the Azerbaijan SSR, the Byelorussian SSR, the Estonian SSR, the Georgian SSR, the Kazakh SSR, the Kirghiz SSR, the Latvian SSR, the Lithuanian SSR, the Moldavian SSR, the Russian SFSR, the Tajik SSR, the Turkmen SSR, the Ukrainian SSR, and the Uzbek SSR. In Russia, the term "near abroad" is sometimes used to refer to the post-Soviet states other than Russia.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) is an intergovernmental military alliance in Eurasia consisting of six post-Soviet states: Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan, formed in 2002. The Collective Security Treaty has its origins in the Soviet Armed Forces, which was replaced in 1992 by the United Armed Forces of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and was then itself replaced by the successor armed forces of the respective independent states.
Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area (CISFTA) is a free-trade area among Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Moldova, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. Five CISFTA participants, all except Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Moldova and Tajikistan, are members of the Eurasian Economic Union, comprising a single economic market, although Uzbekistan and Moldova are observers.
The Eurasian Economic Union is an economic union of five post-Soviet states located in Eurasia. The EAEU has an integrated single market. As of 2023, it consists of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over $2.4 trillion.
The Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Union or EAEU Customs Union is a customs union of 5 post-Soviet states consisting of all the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union which initially became effective on January 1, 2010 at the date of implementation of the common external tariff (CET) as the Customs Union of the Eurasian Economic Community or Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It was inherited from the Eurasian Economic Community and is now regulated by Part Two of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, EAEU Customs Code, other international agreements and by decisions of supranational bodies as Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, Intergovernmental Council and Eurasian Economic Commission.
The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Areas (DCFTA) are three free trade areas established between the European Union, and Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine respectively. The DCFTAs are part of each country's EU Association Agreement. They allow Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine access to the European Single Market in selected sectors and grant EU investors in those sectors the same regulatory environment in the associated country as in the EU. The agreements with Moldova and Georgia have been ratified and officially entered into force in July 2016, although parts of them were already provisionally applied. The agreement with Ukraine was provisionally applied since 1 January 2016 and formally entered into force on 1 September 2017.
The future enlargement of the Eurasian Economic Union is theoretically open to any of the post-Soviet states and potentially any country of Europe or Asia. In order to accede, a state must fulfill certain economic and political requirements. Enlargement of the Eurasian Economic Union is also subject to the consent of all existing members and the candidate's adoption of existing EEU laws and implementing previous decisions made by the Eurasian Economic Commission. The present agenda of the enlargement of the Eurasian Economic Union is primarily focused on Tajikistan. Meanwhile, Moldova was granted Observer Status in April 2017, followed by Uzbekistan and Cuba in December 2020. The process of enlargement is referred to as Eurasian integration or Eurasianism. This term is also used to refer to the intensification of economic cooperation between Eurasian Economic Union member states.
The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) currently comprises 5 member states, which are party to the founding treaties of the EEU and thereby subject to the privileges and obligations of membership. The constituent states of the EEU are placed under binding laws and have equal representation within the EEU's executive and judicial bodies. They do however retain considerable autonomy, and must be unanimous for the EEU to adopt policies or new member states. Consensus is a founding principle of the EEU.
The Armenian Customs Service is a subsidiary department of the State Revenue Committee responsible for customs services on behalf of the Armenian government, headquartered in Yerevan.
The Agreement on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area is an international agreement on the intention to create a free trade regime in goods signed by 12 post-Soviet states on 15 April 1994, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Council of Heads of State in Moscow and entered into force on December 30, 1994. Article 1 indicated that this was "the first stage of the creation of the Economic Union", but on 2 April 1999 the countries agreed to remove this phrase from the agreement. Article 17 also confirmed the intention to conclude a free trade agreement in services.
The Agreement on Free Trade in Services, Establishment, Operations and Investment is an international agreement on the intention to create a free trade regime in services and investment signed by 7 post-Soviet states namely Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan on 8 June 2023, at a meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Sochi, Russia to partly integrate Uzbekistan and Tajikistan on the common standards of the WTO and the EAEU even without their membership in the WTO (Uzbekistan) or the EAEU.
Eurasian economic integration is the process of economic integration of post-Soviet states which are geographically located in the center of the continent of Eurasia. Eurasian integration has been taking shape since 1991, originally via the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1991, as noted in the World Trade Organization report. Currently, integration is primarily implemented through organizations that are open to accession by any post-Soviet countries, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Eurasian Economic Union. An economic union means the deepest stage of economic integration.
