Publication

This CEPS Special Report examines both the potential and the limits of Eurasian economic integration. In the lead-up to the creation of a Eurasian Economic Union in 2015, the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan represent two elements of the most ambitious regional integration project launched in the post-Soviet era since 1991. The authors project whether economic integration of a group of countries automatically engenders political unity. Taking the early stages of the European integration process as a benchmark, the results for the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space point to a rather unfavorable outlook for Eurasian economic integration.