Russian parliament ratifies treaty on Eurasian Economic Union
09:13, 27 September 2014
MOSCOW. KAZINFORM Russian lawmakers on Friday ratified a treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) that groups Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus and that is to involve more republics of the former Soviet Union.
The treaty, signed on May 29 by the presidents of the three countries, was ratified by the State Duma, or lower house of the Russian parliament, unanimously with only one lawmaker abstaining, the Duma press service said.
Leonid Slutsky, head of the State Duma Committee for Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Affairs, said the treaty would create not only a common Eurasian economic space, but also a single security space, Xinhua reports. Parliaments of Belarus and Kazakhstan plan to ratify the EEU treaty on Oct. 1 and Oct. 7 respectively. The EEU is expected to officially come into effect on Jan. 1, 2015.