ROAD TO EURASIAN UNION WILL TAKE FIVE YEARS
by Alexandra Bayazitova

WPS Agency
Nov 17 2011
Russia

Source: Izvestia (Moscow issue), No 215, November 17, 2011, p. 2
[translated from Russian]

UNITED RUSSIA IF FOUNDING A NEW ALLIANCE, FORERUNNER OF THE FUTURE
PARTY OF THE EURASIAN PARLIAMENT; United Russia organized a roundtable
conference to discuss establishment of the Eurasian Union.

The United Russia faction of the Duma arranged an international
roundtable conference. Its participants decided that the CIS Court
of Human Rights and ruling party of the new international alliance
ought to become the first institutions establishment of the Eurasian
Union would begin with.

Duma Chairman Boris Gryzlov said, "It's time we stopped talking the
Eurasian Union and launched realization of this project."

Gryzlov emphasized that leaders of the Customs Union had backed the
idea of the Eurasian Union. They had even expressed political will to
participate. Consequently, establishment of new international power
structures could be safely launched already.

Population of the future Eurasian Union might amount to 230-250
million.

Yuri Shuvalov, Assistant Secretary of the Presidium of United Russia
General Council, said that the ruling party was already putting
together a new alliance that might become a "party within the
future Eurasian legislature". Shuvalov said that United Russia's
Social-Conservative Union intended to establish an international
conservative confederation that would initiate a dialogue with
societies of the countries comprising the Eurasian Union.

Agency of Political and Economic Communications Director General
Dmitry Orlov said, "A vast country needs a large political party. This
integration will promote United Russia internationally. It might
become a magnet for the elites of several countries at once."

The CIS Court of Human Rights might become another institution
establishment of the Eurasian Union will begin with. The idea of
such a court belongs to Federation Council Deputy Chairman Alexander
Torshin. "This court will complement the European Court of Human Rights
rather than displace it," said Torshin. He explained that appeals
to the court in Strasbourg were too expensive and time-consuming and
thus were more than most people could afford.

Vladimir Pligin, Duma Constitutional Legislation Committee Chairman,
said, "As a matter of fact, the idea of an international court really
belongs to an Armenian from our committee. He encountered some problems
with national courts here and thus suggested this concept."

Lesja Karatayeva, Assistant Director of the Kazakh Institute of
Strategic Surveys, pointed out that the future integration could not
be expected to be entirely smooth and problem-free. More than 50%
residents of the Customs Union countries supported the idea of the
Eurasian Union but there were also skeptics there who dismissed it
as folly.

"We ought to address the problem of the existing phobias," said
Karatayeva.

Valery Konovalyuk of the Ukrainian Rada said that the matter of
Ukraine's participation in the Eurasian Union might be decided on
December 19. December 19 is the day of the Ukrainian-EU summit.

Konovalyuk surmised that this summit was bound to dispel President
Victor Yanukovich's "illusions" with regard to membership in the
European Union.

"On the other hand, the Eurasian Union will ensure new jobs for the
Ukrainians," he said.

Duma Committee for Culture Chairman Vladimir Medinsky said that the
processes of integration would be swift. Medinsky said, "The decision
to form the Eurasian Economic Community was made in 2000. In other
words, it took us only 12 years to accomplish what had taken the
Europeans 40 years. I'm convinced that we will be able to keep up
this pace. Time is running out, you know. We have only five years to
wrap up the project."

"Only fools may think that we will fail to unite again," said Maxat
Kunakunov, advisor to the chairman of the Kyrgyz parliament.




From: A. Papazian