By Vestnik Kavkaza
The economic orientation of Ukraine is one of the key questions of development of integration in the post-Soviet space. A movement for Eurasian integration is being intensified there – several political forces initiated preparation for a referendum on Ukraine’s joining the Customs Union.
“Russia takes a rather passive position and hasn't promoted the CU on the territory of Ukraine for a long time,” the chairman of the Eurasian Discussion Club Roman Shkolin says. “But in recent times we are addressed by various social organizations, unions to intensify the work on the Ukrainian territory and inform the population on benefits from the CU, its priorities, advantages in comparison to the agreement with the EU which Ukraine plans to sign in the nearest future. For example, one of arguments which our partners from Ukraine have is that in Ukraine promotion of the European Union and European values is very active. Recently a contest among radio stations of Ukraine for a grant has taken place. For a certain amount of time radio stations had to discuss problems of LGBT movement in the context that these people do great job and it should be promoted. These are European values which are imposed on Ukraine and our brotherly peoples through such shows.”
According to Shkolin, “recently MGIMO has held a major conference on the Russian-Ukrainian relations. Almost all political forces of Ukraine have been represented, representatives of various political parties. The issues of historically important integration of our country into some unions should be settled collectively by people of this or that country. For example, there is a European practice which says that before a state joins the EU, almost in all countries a referendum on accession is held; and it is not an individual decision of the authorities, opinion of citizens is priority. I urge the Ukrainian leadership to it.”
Boris Zhelezov, deputy director of the Department for Research and Developments at the Education Institute of the HSE, told Vestnik Kavkaza about development of educational sphere within the CU.
- The Customs Union and the Eurasian project are building up today. Do you think institutes which teach people working in this space are needed?
- Net universities exist. However, they go beyond the Eurasian area. There is the SCO University where China takes part; there is the CIS University where other countries participate. The initiative on establishing net institutes should come from universities. There are such initiatives. We have Russian-Kyrgyz Technical University, for instance. But the structures are bilateral. I should note that at the legislative level there are no obstacles for establishing of net universities; and the Customs area eliminates barriers for recognition of education gotten in all countries-members of the CU.
- What do you think the most priority-oriented scientific projects on the CIS territory?
- Obstacles on the path of these projects and initiatives are being eliminated. Separate projects will be stable when it is an initiative of their authors and executors.
- Do we cooperate with any countries in the CIS especially actively?
- I wouldn’t speak about gradation here because all countries are different in population and economic potential. The Customs Union operates on the CIS territory. So, Belarus, Kazakhstan, in the future probably Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, we hope Ukraine are the countries. But I wouldn’t stress any of them specially. In the CIS we develop cooperation with all countries. The evidence is the recent task to increase a number of foreign students who study in our universities on a gratuitous basis.
