Question: Is there a danger that the desire of member countries to join the WTO will have a negative impact on EurAsEC?
Vladimir Putin: That cannot be ruled out. The prevention of such a development was high on the agenda today. We have passed a special decision on the issue whereby all the EurAsEC countries, in the course of their consultations and talks on WTO accession, would coordinate their positions based on the principles enshrined in the rules of that organisation. You would all agree that the acceptable terms are those Russia is bargaining for because owing to its economic clout it is better placed to negotiate terms than other countries. That, I think, is one of the main decisions to emerge from today’s meeting. I subscribe to the assessment given by our Chairman, the President of Kazakhstan.
Question: A year since it was formed, can it be said that EurAsEC as an organisation has a future?
Vladimir Putin: If we didn’t believe in the future of that organisation we wouldn’t have created it in the first place. After the disintegration of the USSR much has been lost. The earliest sufferers from the rupture of economic relations were ordinary citizens. The challenge is to preserve what should be preserved, considering the processes of globalisation in the world economy. Not to lag behind these processes, but to offer the goods and services that are competitive and to use together in the world market the advantages of interaction within the Commonwealth.
All that will combine to create favourable conditions for development. The chairman of our organisation has already mentioned the rate of economic growth we have achieved recently. I must say that Kazakhstan is the indisputable leader in terms of growth rates. 13-odd percent growth of GDP in the first two or three months of the year is, in my opinion, a brilliant result. Tajikistan is doing quite well, with more than 8%. That is a very good indicator. I think one of the reasons for this is that within EurAsEC many barriers to cooperation have been removed. We have discussed energy and transportation projects, interaction between customs and border services. If we move in that direction vigorously I am sure the organisation will have a future.
Question: EurAsEC has recently been compared to the European Union. These organisations are similar in character. Did you consider in the course of today’s meeting the creation of a mechanism for closer cooperation between EurAsEC and the European Union?
Vladimir Putin: Of course, one may compare EurAsEC with the European Union but today the comparison will certainly not be in our favour. The European Union has traversed a long road of cooperation and interaction. As you know, it all began with coal and steel. Just recently in Europe they recalled the French Foreign Minister [Robert Schuman] who initiated that process.
As regards interaction, it is of course possible. We know that the European Union is open to interaction. Russia is actively cooperating with the European Union. Similarly, EurAsEC is an organisation created above all to strengthen interaction mechanisms in the economic sphere.
I am absolutely convinced that the European Union will be interested in cooperation with EurAsEC. I am referring to the huge energy potential of the EurAsEC member countries, transport potential and other infrastructure we would be ready to make available for effective interaction. We have the markets and we have the production, not only raw materials, but also high technologies. All these are of course the priorities that can be effectively used. We did not discuss that particular option today in a hands-on way, but whenever we meet we always think about the processes going on in the European Union and compare and try to borrow the best of their experience. Just today I talked about the European Union’s decision to create a common border service. This is more than coordinating policy on border matters, this is the creation of a supranational organisation. As you know, one of our decisions today is to coordinate our interaction in the sphere of customs regulation. I wouldn’t say it has been done under the direct influence of the European Union, but I repeat, we are comparing what we do with the actions of the European Union and we will try to structure our common work within EurAsEC so that there should be no obstacles to cooperation with the European Union, so as to clear the decks for interaction.