About this event

Presentation

  • Andrei Yeliseyeu, Research Director, EAST Center, and Rethink.CEE Fellow, German Marshall Fund of the United States 

Commentary

  • Johannes Schraps, Member of the Bundestag (SPD)

Moderation

  • Joerg Forbrig, Senior Fellow, Central and Eastern Europe, German Marshall Fund of the United States

Five years ago, the founding treaty of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) was signed by Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, followed later by Kyrgyzstan and Armenia. From the onset, this latest attempt to integrate post-Soviet states was shrouded in skepticism and uncertainty. For some, the new union represented nothing less than a Russian project to renew hegemony over neighbors. For others, it was sure to repeat the failure of earlier initiatives to institutionalize cooperation in Eurasia. Yet others doubted the possibility of reliably associating non-democratic regimes that dominate the region. Still, and often unnoticed in the West, the EAEU has since become the most developed form of integration among post-Soviet states, a contractual and rules-based regime that differs qualitatively from all earlier attempts at integration. This surprising development warrants a closer look at recent dynamics in Eurasian integration, and at possible trajectories in the years to come.

The German Marshall Fund of the United States is pleased to invite you to the presentation and discussion of a new policy paper that takes stock of the development of the EAEU to date. This event is part of the Rethink.CEE Fellowship, which was established by the German Marshall Fund of the United States last year. At a time when Central and Eastern Europe faces mounting challenges to its democracy, security, and prosperity, the Rethink.CEE Fellowship supports next-generation thinkers and activists to conduct original policy research, to offer fresh thinking and perspectives, and to shape effective responses by the transatlantic community.

To register for the event, please contact Anna Zubko at +49 30 2888 1351 or [email protected].