“Aravot’s” exclusive interview with Sergey Glazyev, Advisor to RF President
“Armenia is an observer member of the Eurasian Union and has the opportunity to join the process. In this case, even the existence of a common border is not a mandatory prerequisite. We have the example of Kaliningrad, which also does not have a common border. We may establish such a customs zone that Armenia will become part of this project. But, it, so to speak, is the choice of Armenia. We still do not have any application from Armenia,” such an opinion was expressed by former executive secretary of the Customs Union, Advisor to the President of Russia Sergey Glazyev, a year ago (11.10.2012), in the interview with “Aravot”, speaking about Armenia’s joining the Customs Union and the Eurasian Union.
At that time, however, Mr. Glazyev expressed an opinion that this issue is not a daily issue for Armenia. While, in the result of unexpected developments, on September 3, 2013, RA President Serzh Sargsyan, after the meeting with RF President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, stated that Armenia wants to join the Customs Union. The destiny of 4-year debates on establishment of EU Association Agreement and Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area is still unclear. Recently, at “Dialogue of Civilizations” forum held in the Greek island of Rhodes, which was also attended by Mr. Glazyev, “Aravot” tried to get the answers to some questions from the RF senior official. By the way, let me remind you that regarding the absence of common border, Mr. Glazyev’s comparison with Kaliningrad, made recently, raised a big fuss in Armenia.
– Mr. Glazyev, what has changed in a year in the Armenian-Russian relations, or perhaps in geopolitical processes that RF compelled Armenia to make a hasty decision?
– Russia does not compel, Russia cooperates with Armenia. Practically, there had been no fears or concerns in terms of long-term and stable strategic partnership in the entire modern history. The problem lies in the formulations of those relations. We have not talked publicly about Armenia’s joining the Eurasian Union, because, legally, in order to become a member of the Customs Union, given country should be a full member of general Eurasian Economic Community. So are our documentations built. Armenia had been a EurAsEC observer member; it is actively involved in the anti-crisis fund of various projects: high-tech center, and other international programs. And, in the context that Armenia does not have a common customs border, the issue was pretty much discussed of how effective Armenia’s joining the common customs area would be. There have been various estimates. Experts’ general conviction is focused on the fact that, yes, Armenia can constitute a part of overall territory of the Customs Union, but a huge economic effect should not be expected from it. Even without it, we have free trade without customs duties, and in that sense, the abolition of customs controls could have played a major role, if there were a common customs border. Since it does not exist, as in the case of the Kaliningrad region, however, there will be a sort of customs check. Recently, as you know, the activities on establishment of the Eurasian Economic Union are underway, and agreements regarding the common economic area would be functioning within this union, and, here, Armenia has big interests. Common Economic Area enables to receive gas with internal market prices of the Customs Union. In other words, permanent and supply of cheap natural gas resources are guaranteed to Armenia. In common Eurasian Economic Area, export duties will not work, therefore, the oil and oil products would be released to Armenia without customs duties. The same applies to general market of electricity and transport services. Finally, the improvement of relations with Georgia also gives us wide opportunities, because the options for the approach, geographically, are opened, and a number of problems available in the Caucasus are also solved.
The pressures brought to Armenia by the European Union became one more additional factor, the integration of Armenia with EU. Armenia was offered to practically become an EU carriage, with discrimination conditions, as in the case of Ukraine, by giving all the rights to making decisions to Brussels, and then just carry out the instructions of Brussels against the functions, which we had given to the Customs Union. In other words, it were not us to push Armenia to make a decision to join the Customs Union, but the European Union with its stubborn desire to deprive Armenia from its sovereignty. To preserve its independence and the balanced relations with RF, the President of Armenia was compelled to make respective political decision under this pressure.
– Reverse criticism was voiced in Armenia by saying that joining the Customs Union, Armenia is losing its sovereignty.
– Such talks are usually taken by people who want to drag respective country to the European Union. We have had several phases of such talks with Ukraine. Initially, when Ukraine was participating in the negotiations on establishment of the Common Economic Area, many were saying that it would deprive Ukraine from sovereignty. Then, the same people who were telling us about their sovereignty, suddenly decided to hand over the whole sovereignty to Brussels. In other words, it speaks about the bankruptcy of such statements. Usually, people, who want to drag this or that country to the European Union and under NATO domination, criticize us. Actually, the decision-making system in the Customs Union guarantees RF, Belarus and Kazakhstan to preserve sovereignty, because even though a lot of trade and production relations are regulated by the supranational organization, the Eurasian Economic Committee, all the countries in the same committee are presented with equal terms, three people in each Committee. In addition, a Committee Council, the Supreme Council, is functioning, where the decisions are made based on the principle of consensus. Finally, there is a Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, which also operates on the principle of consensus, and may rescind any decision of the Committee of the Eurasian Economic Community. This means that all countries have equal rights. Although, RF has a dominant role in the economic sense, however, the votes of all countries have the same number. All countries have a veto right, moreover, this right may be employed in three different levels of decision-making. I would say that approximately 1500 decisions had been taken by the supranational body, and all with consensus. There was a case when it was decided to rescind the anti-dumping customs duty over the combine at the request of the Government of Kazakhstan. In other words, the labor system, here, provides sovereignty of each state. And what is offered to Armenia by the EU within the framework of the Association Agreement, to blindly execute the instructions of the European Union, without having any possibility to influence on the formation of these instructions, is to coordinate legislative system with the EU, and a supranational committee should also be formed, partly with the EU representatives, and partly with Armenia representatives, with which everything should be coordinated. In other words, Armenia can not be a partner of the Customs Union, it cannot become a member of neither the Eurasian Union, nor the European Economic Area. Moreover, in this case, Armenia will not get any advantages, and the preferential conditions that we are offering, in that case, they would be rescinded. Therefore, if we compare the preservation of the level of sovereignty in this-or-that option of integration, it is apparent that entering into the Customs Union, Armenia preserves its autonomy, and has the opportunity to disallow any decision-making that is contrary to its interests, and Brussels dictatorship will prevail in the EU.
Nelly Grigoryan
Continuation in tomorrow’s issue of “Aravot”
