The Armenian Parliament Commission for Economic Affairs endorsed the agreement of Armenia's accession to the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with 5 votes 'for' and 2 votes 'against.' The document will be put on agenda of the upcoming meeting of the National Assembly.
The Committee members from the ruling Republican Party, the Prosperous Armenia and ARFD parties supported the document, while members from the opposition Heritage Party and Free Democrats Party voted against the document.
Deputy Minister of Finance Suren Karayan explained that Armenia loses nothing with accession to the EEU, quite the contrary, it will enter new markets and raise more foreign investments. The West's economic sanctions against Russia affect the economy of Armenia irrespective of whether the country is a member of the EEU or not, he said.
After accession to the EEU, Armenia will maintain the customs duties for around 750 types of goods, such as energy resources, medicines, essential commodities and raw materials, within several years. International trade agreements that were signed before 2011 will remain effective as well. As a member of the EEU, Armenia will be paying the membership fee in the amount of $2 million every year starting 2016. Armenia is expected to become a member of the Union after the agreement is ratified by the parliaments of Armenia, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, but no sooner than in Jan 2015.