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ARMENIA TO SIGN TREATY OF ACCESSION TO CUSTOMS UNION ON APRIL 29
The Voice of Russia
April 18 2014
"Voice of Russia"
Armenia will sign a treaty of accession to the Customs Union of
Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia on April 29, Minister of Economy Vagram
Avanesyan said on Thursday, April 17.
"The date of signature has been determined - April 29, but the final
results of the talks will become known a day before that," he said,
adding that they would be announced at a meeting of the Supreme
Eurasian Economic Council at the level of heads of state in Minsk.
"We do not know today whether the talks will be completed by that
time or not. We hope they will be concluded," the minister said.
He stressed that several issues had yet to be resolved at the talks
on waivers. "We are engaged in intensive negotiations because there
are differing interests," he added.
On September 3, 2013, after talks with Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that the "Republic
of Armenia will join the Customs Union and will take practical steps
to this end and will subsequently participate in forming the Eurasian
Economic Union".
At their summit in Moscow on December 24, 2013, the presidents of
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia approved an accession roadmap,
which said that the treaty on Armenia's accession to the Customs
Union would be ready by May 2014.
Preliminary results of implementation by Armenia of the roadmap for
accession to the Customs Union were reported to the presidents of
the member states at a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Commission
on March 5, 2014.
"Over the two months that have passed since the December summit, and
we can say that Armenia has made great headway in implementing the
roadmap ahead of schedule. I feel optimistic about the possibility
and ability of Armenia to implement the 260-point roadmap and the
amount of work to be done before admission," Viktor Khristenko,
chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission's Board, said.
Following Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan's resignation, President
Sargsyan said Yerevan would continue the accession process at a
new pace.
Prime Minister Sargsyan said earlier that there were no obstacles to
Armenia's accession to the Customs Union.
"There are no obstacles that could prevent Armenia from becoming a
member of the Customs Union," he said, adding that "most of the work
has been done, and we only have to complete the list of waivers for
900 types of goods that are sensitive for Armenia".
"We have grouped these goods, consulted the private sector and
organised public discussions in order to decide which types of goods,
raw materials and services are important and sensitive for us,"
the prime minister said.
"The first most important factor to benefit our business is that
economic entities will get unrestricted access to a large consumer
market," he said. "The quality and degree of processing of our goods
and services are such that our economy is geared to and aimed at
this large market. The creation of new customs regimes will allow
our business to sell these goods and services freely in this large
and strong market."
"This is a powerful stimulus for economic growth," he added.
The second important factor is the simplification of customs
procedures. "The elimination of technical hindrances ... means that
goods and services made in the country will be able to be exported
to the Customs Union member states without additional conditions,"
Sargsyan said.
Membership in the Customs Union will also help attract investments
in Armenia, he said and cited the Russian oil company Rosneft's plans
to invest 400 million U.S. dollars in the republic's economy.
Yet another factor is accessibility of inexpensive resources,
Sargsyan said. He recalled that "three agreements have been signed
with Russia, which guarantee long-term and stable supplies of resources
to companies".
The prime minister believes that "integration processes will help
improve the quality of life in the republic" and hopes that "the free
movement of labour will reduce the risk of emigration [from Armenia]
considerably".
The Customs Union between Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan was
established on December 19, 2009, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where the
leaders of the three states - Dmitry Medvedev, Alexander Lukashenko,
and Nursultan Nazarbayev - signed the Joint Statement on its founding.
The first phase of the Customs Union's functioning began on January 1,
2010, with the introduction of a uniform customs tariff.
The Customs Union's highest bodies are the Interstate Councils of the
heads of states and governments of its members. Its joint permanent
governing body is the Customs Union Commission.
The Customs Union formation envisages creation of a common customs
territory where no customs duties or economic restrictions will apply,
save for special protective, anti-dumping and compensatory measures.
Within the Customs Union, a uniform customs tariff and other uniform
measures regulating the commodity trade with third nations will
be applied.
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_18/Armenia-to-sign-treaty-of-accession-to-Customs-Union-on-April-29-6501/
The Voice of Russia
April 18 2014
"Voice of Russia"
Armenia will sign a treaty of accession to the Customs Union of
Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia on April 29, Minister of Economy Vagram
Avanesyan said on Thursday, April 17.
"The date of signature has been determined - April 29, but the final
results of the talks will become known a day before that," he said,
adding that they would be announced at a meeting of the Supreme
Eurasian Economic Council at the level of heads of state in Minsk.
"We do not know today whether the talks will be completed by that
time or not. We hope they will be concluded," the minister said.
He stressed that several issues had yet to be resolved at the talks
on waivers. "We are engaged in intensive negotiations because there
are differing interests," he added.
On September 3, 2013, after talks with Russian President Vladimir
Putin, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan announced that the "Republic
of Armenia will join the Customs Union and will take practical steps
to this end and will subsequently participate in forming the Eurasian
Economic Union".
At their summit in Moscow on December 24, 2013, the presidents of
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Armenia approved an accession roadmap,
which said that the treaty on Armenia's accession to the Customs
Union would be ready by May 2014.
Preliminary results of implementation by Armenia of the roadmap for
accession to the Customs Union were reported to the presidents of
the member states at a meeting of the Eurasian Economic Commission
on March 5, 2014.
"Over the two months that have passed since the December summit, and
we can say that Armenia has made great headway in implementing the
roadmap ahead of schedule. I feel optimistic about the possibility
and ability of Armenia to implement the 260-point roadmap and the
amount of work to be done before admission," Viktor Khristenko,
chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission's Board, said.
Following Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan's resignation, President
Sargsyan said Yerevan would continue the accession process at a
new pace.
Prime Minister Sargsyan said earlier that there were no obstacles to
Armenia's accession to the Customs Union.
"There are no obstacles that could prevent Armenia from becoming a
member of the Customs Union," he said, adding that "most of the work
has been done, and we only have to complete the list of waivers for
900 types of goods that are sensitive for Armenia".
"We have grouped these goods, consulted the private sector and
organised public discussions in order to decide which types of goods,
raw materials and services are important and sensitive for us,"
the prime minister said.
"The first most important factor to benefit our business is that
economic entities will get unrestricted access to a large consumer
market," he said. "The quality and degree of processing of our goods
and services are such that our economy is geared to and aimed at
this large market. The creation of new customs regimes will allow
our business to sell these goods and services freely in this large
and strong market."
"This is a powerful stimulus for economic growth," he added.
The second important factor is the simplification of customs
procedures. "The elimination of technical hindrances ... means that
goods and services made in the country will be able to be exported
to the Customs Union member states without additional conditions,"
Sargsyan said.
Membership in the Customs Union will also help attract investments
in Armenia, he said and cited the Russian oil company Rosneft's plans
to invest 400 million U.S. dollars in the republic's economy.
Yet another factor is accessibility of inexpensive resources,
Sargsyan said. He recalled that "three agreements have been signed
with Russia, which guarantee long-term and stable supplies of resources
to companies".
The prime minister believes that "integration processes will help
improve the quality of life in the republic" and hopes that "the free
movement of labour will reduce the risk of emigration [from Armenia]
considerably".
The Customs Union between Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan was
established on December 19, 2009, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where the
leaders of the three states - Dmitry Medvedev, Alexander Lukashenko,
and Nursultan Nazarbayev - signed the Joint Statement on its founding.
The first phase of the Customs Union's functioning began on January 1,
2010, with the introduction of a uniform customs tariff.
The Customs Union's highest bodies are the Interstate Councils of the
heads of states and governments of its members. Its joint permanent
governing body is the Customs Union Commission.
The Customs Union formation envisages creation of a common customs
territory where no customs duties or economic restrictions will apply,
save for special protective, anti-dumping and compensatory measures.
Within the Customs Union, a uniform customs tariff and other uniform
measures regulating the commodity trade with third nations will
be applied.
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_04_18/Armenia-to-sign-treaty-of-accession-to-Customs-Union-on-April-29-6501/