Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Dmitry Volvach presented at a meeting of the State Duma a draft federal law on ratification of the “III Great Protocol” on amendments to the treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. The project was unanimously supported by the deputies of the State Duma.
The Protocol was developed by order of Russian President Vladimir Putin, signed by the heads of the five EAEU member states and contains 33 amendments to the current treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. The new changes are the result of two years of painstaking work by the countries of the “Eurasian Five” and the Eurasian Economic Commission. This is the third “package” of amendments to the basic document of the EAEU. The first package contained more than 50 amendments, the second – more than 130.
“The adoption of the amendments will significantly simplify the conduct of business activities on the territory of the Eurasian Economic Union,” Dmitry Volvach explained. – The entry into force of the amendments will allow the Union countries to settle the issues of launching a legally significant electronic document flow between business and government agencies of the EAEU countries. It will strengthen the existing business activity of the “Eurasian five” countries.
The Protocol contains amendments that will simplify the administrative procedures for issuing licenses and permits for the export and import of goods in electronic form. This will allow entrepreneurs from the countries of the Union to more quickly build interaction with each other, completely abandoning paper copies of permits. The procedure for obtaining them will also be simplified: in automatic mode, without the participation of officials of authorized state authorities.
“The text of the protocol also provides clarifications for the existing provisions of the Treaty on the Union in the field of consumer protection, customs tariff and non-tariff regulation, quarantine phytosanitary measures and technical regulation,” Dmitry Volvach said. “These changes are aimed at eliminating gaps in legal regulation that the EAEU countries have discovered in the course of law enforcement practice and interaction with each other.”
For example, in the field of quarantine phytosanitary measures, a new category of temporary measures is being introduced – emergency phytosanitary measures that can be applied until the final results of the phytosanitary risk analysis are obtained.
On November 22, 2023, the adopted bill will be considered at a meeting of the Federation Council. If the document is approved by the upper house of Parliament, it will be sent to the President for signing.
The amendments will enter into force immediately after each of the EAEU countries ratifies the protocol within its own country. At the moment, the document has been ratified in Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus.
