Global Eurasian integration: from regional cooperation to influence on the system of the modern world order

The expert opinion was prepared following the SPIEF-2022 session "ASEAN — EAEU — SCO: Integration Segment of the Greater Eurasian Partnership".

Eurasian integration has long been a priority development strategy for Russia. Today, the Eurasian continent has the largest concentration of states that has never existed in history. They, in turn, are integrated into various regional and international organizations and projects, each of which performs a specific function according to the principle of sectoral division. The member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States are also following the path of building up multilateral cooperation. In accordance with the principle of multi-level and multi-speed integration, various integration formats are successfully developing in the CIS space: the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), the Customs Union (CU), the Common Economic Space (CES), the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) and others. They organically complement each other, creating a broad partnership platform. Responding to the demands of the time, these organizations began integration processes within themselves, which led to the creation of a large-scale project — Greater Eurasian Partnership (BEP).

For the first time, the idea of creating a "Greater Eurasian Partnership" was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the end of 2015. It proceeds from the fact that the first steps should be taken not in the political or military spheres, but in the economy of the Eurasian continent. It is the economy that is the basis of modern society. It is obvious that today politics takes precedence over the economy, imposing its priorities and attitudes on states, but in the end, no one can ignore economic interests. These interests, as a rule, are more stable, rational and less influenced by subjective factors than political attitudes.

To create a BEP, a number of conditions are necessary, without which it will not be viable. As the speakers of the discussion within the ASEAN — EAEU — SCO: Integration Segment of the Greater Eurasian Partnership Petersburg International Economic Forum 2022, it is necessary to avoid competition between existing organizations and projects in the Eurasian space. On the contrary, all these structures, projects and organizations should be considered as self-sufficient elements for the future common Eurasian partnership. The main goal of BEP — bring all these elements together without compromising what has already demonstrated its viability today.

Obviously, in the current situation, the BEP is seen by many as a union of the Eurasian East against the European West. If earlier there was a high probability that the European Union could and should join this project, today these chances are zero. But this does not mean that the space being created should set blocks for the countries of Europe. On the contrary, in contrast to rigid integration structures such as the European Union, "Partnership" should offer the most flexible forms of involvement of individual countries or their regional groupings (territories) in their work. These countries can enter into separate dimensions of partnership (trade, financial, infrastructural, visa, educational, cultural, etc.) as they are ready, taking into account their current needs and capabilities. Russia today cannot be closed, it is necessary to create a flexible and open basis for cooperation at various levels, from interstate to territorial. The past SPIEF-2022 clearly demonstrated this when business representatives from unfriendly countries of Europe and America came to prolong economic cooperation with Russia and its enterprises, despite the sanctions and coercive diplomacy that their official governments impose on them.

Within the framework of the BEP, the rules of freedom for the economic and political elections of countries should apply, since all of them have different models of economic development and political structure. One should be aware of the fact that on the Eurasian continent there are both socialist states and countries of liberal democracy, both market and planned economies. Differences in devices should not be an obstacle in the formation of the Greater Eurasian Space.

BEP can and should exist as a systemic and comprehensive interaction. Based on it, the expansion of economic cooperation should inevitably affect other areas of cooperation, such as science and education, culture, humanitarian contacts and public diplomacy. Eurasian integration will not be successful if it is reduced only to the indicators of trade and investment. The social interaction of the peoples of Eurasia and the economic cooperation of the Eurasian states should complement and stimulate each other. Already operating organizations and projects create a good foundation for this. It is also necessary to take into account the fact that favorable factors for Eurasian integration within the post-Soviet space today are: a common language, similar worldviews and life positions, well-established production models, and others. At the same time, the development of interaction within the framework of the most complex and deep integration formats — Customs Union and the Common Economic Space of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. It is these three countries that have become the core of Eurasian integration within the framework of the BEP.

There is another risk in creating a BEP that needs to be clearly understood and tried to be overcome from the very beginning. This is the emergence of the so-called "Eurasian isolationism", that is, the closure of the countries of Eurasia to partners from other regions of the world, be it Africa or Latin America. On the contrary, migration processes in the Eurasian space should become a powerful stimulus for the further development of economic ties in the waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans. And also for progress in solving such universal problems as climate change, the fight against pandemics, overcoming the looming food crisis, food and energy security, managing migration processes, overcoming the consequences of economic sanctions.

In the current difficult international conditions, it is necessary to ensure that the formation of the BEP does not proceed from top to bottom, but from the bottom up, that is, from specific, even if very modest, agreements between regional integration associations, corporations, and public organizations. Important and promising areas of work are the creation of independent Eurasian payment systems and rating agencies, the complete abandonment of the US dollar, the formation of a Eurasian economic information center for the concentration of important information and its prompt presentation, the formation of a single Eurasian educational space. The latter is especially relevant in connection with Russia's withdrawal from the Bologna Agreement and the possibility of creating an alternative educational system in the Eurasian space.

Very much has changed since the moment when the idea of the Greater Eurasian Partnership was voiced for the first time. There have been big temporary shifts in the plans for its implementation, what we planned to do in 10 years will have to be done today in 1-2 years, we are forced by the international situation, the aggression of NATO countries and the sanctions war against Russia.

At the 25th anniversary SPIEF, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the unipolar world has ceased to exist and is being replaced by a multipolar world, the main players of which are declaring their interests today. One of these leading players can be the Greater Eurasian Partnership, it has all the opportunities and tools for this.