Eurasian Economic Union treaty may be ratified by all member states by Oct 7
MOSCOW. KAZINFORM A treaty creating an initially three-member-state Eurasian Economic Union may be ratified by all countries by October 7, a senior deputy of the Russian lower house of parliament said on Thursday.
The union plans free movement of goods, services, capital and labor as an extension of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, ITAR-TASS reports. It comes into effect on January 1 next year, assuming the treaty is approved by the parliaments of its three founding nations. Membership is open to other states assessed as sharing the assembly's aims and principles, its founders say. "According to our information, ratification in Kazakhstan's lower house of parliament, the Majlis, was previously scheduled for October 1, and in Belarus' House of Representatives of the National Assembly for October 7," said Leonid Slutsky, Chairman the State Duma's Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots, which on Thursday recommended the nation's lower house of parliament to ratify the treaty. State Duma deputies will consider the document on Friday. After being ratified by the lower house, the treaty will be sent to the Federation Council approval next week.