Union Government losing integration competition with the Customs Union

The Russian and Belarusian Union Government (UG), as a structure, will find it harder and harder to compete with the trilateral Customs Union (CU) of Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, UG State Secretary Grigory Rapota said, whilst evaluating the results of 16 years of existence of the union established in 1996. The UG has always served the role of a pilot project in the former Soviet Union, and we would like to retain this role. But it will be difficult, as the integration processes, such as the CU, are also developing.” Rapota noted the UG’s strong legal framework, ongoing successful development of humanitarian, economic and military-technical cooperation, etc.