MINSK, 25 October (BelTA) – Belarus thinks it is unacceptable to drag out the formation of the common markets of gas, oil, and oil products in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), Belarusian Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov noted at the session of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council in Yerevan, Armenia on 25 October, BelTA has learned.
“For us, the formation of the common markets of gas, oil, and oil products remains the most sensitive issue. I would like to recall that Belarus made certain concessions as it was signing the EAEU Treaty and agreed to discuss the formation of the common energy resource markets in the most distant future. It did not make economic sense for us but we went for it,” Andrei Kobyakov noted.
A firm agreement was achieved then to take all the decisions by 2025 at the latest. “Today, the attempts to drag out the process are becoming quite clear. We believe this is not acceptable. We have already jumped the gun, in a sense. We have set up a system of sub-national bodies ahead of economic basis and the common market, not the way the EU was established,” the prime minister underlined. First, the European Union signed the Treaty on the European Coal and Steel Community to form a common commodity market. Then the very integration processes were initiated on this basis.
“Since we decided to go our own way and agreed to set up a common market of energy resources only by 2025, let us stick to these agreements. We should deal with issues today rather than leave them on the backburner under some pretext all the way till 2025,” Andrei Kobyakov summarized.
