Ukraine wishes to be Eurasian Economic Commission observer

Ukraine hopes to become a Eurasian Economic Commission observer, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov told Eurasian Economic Commission Board Chairman Viktor Khristenko in Kyiv on Monday, Sept. 10.

"We would like to offer for your consideration the Ukrainian representation in the Eurasian Economic Commission and to express our wish to participate in its activities as an observer," he said.

Ukraine would like to accredit its permanent representative to the Commission, who would be working at the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia, he said.

Ukraine and the Eurasian Economic Commission agreed to cooperate in trade and technical regulation and signed two related memoranda in Kyiv on Monday. Azarov and Khristenko signed the documents.

The Eurasian Economic Commission was established by the presidents of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in late 2011 as a permanent regulatory body of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space (it currently unites Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan and is open to other countries). The Commission is a supranational managerial body. It is not subordinated to either of the three national governments. Decisions of the Commission are mandatory for the three member states. The main goal of the Commission is to ensure the functioning and development of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space and to make proposals on further integration.