Eurasian Economic Union May Join WTO

Creating the Charter of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) will be the key issue of the 2nd session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the EEU. The session will take place in the Taurida Palace in St. Petersburg on March 25. As Bureau Secretary of the Asembly Anatoly Malyshev said, the Charter would become an instrument for creating the EEU's legal base. 'Unlike other interregional unions, the EEU will operate based on the acts that have legal weight,' Mr. Malyshev noted, 'that is why we have drafted the EEU regulation agreement, which specifies how the Charter will be passed. This is a very important concern because it would allow us to form a solid legal base for our actions.'

The participants will also design the Assembly's action plan for the period until 2005. As the Assembly itself reported, about forty documents have already been drafted, among them many regulations and recommendations. They will discuss the possibility of joining the WTO and creating a common customs zone. Intergovernmental regulation of entrepreneurship and the legal base for it will also be on the agenda.