From the Customs Union to the Eurasian Economic Union

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) emerged out of a series of antecedent organizations: the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC), the Customs Union (CU) and the Common Economic Space (CES). When finally launched in January 2015, the three original members- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan- and Russia, joined by Kyrgyzstan in August of that year, faced profound headwinds as the crisis over Ukraine intensified, accompanied by sanctions and volatility in energy markets. Initially envisaged as the counterpart of the European Union and one of the pillars of a putative greater Europe, since then the EAEU has developed in relative isolation from the West, but its ties with China and other countries of the Global South have deepened. The EAEU has consolidated its organizational framework, including the foundation of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council and the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council and its Board. The geopolitical and economic headwinds remain, yet the Union survived its traumatic first decade and looks set to remain an important instrument of Eurasian integration and a partner to China’s Belt and Road and other greater Eurasian economic and political communities.