The EEU should be "a coupling" between Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region (APR), State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin said, opening the first forum of young leaders of the EEU in Moscow.
According to the speaker of the State Duma, the union is based on the principles of sovereignty, equality, the rule of constitutional rights and freedoms, respect for the history, cultures and traditions of the participating countries.
Naryshkin pointed to the commitment of all EEU members to the comprehensive modernization and increased competitiveness of national economies. The politician noted that the EEU started its work in difficult conditions: the global crisis in the world economy and "lawless pressure from abroad."
The head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, said that he would explore the establishment of the Eurasian Inter-parliamentary Assembly and the the Eurasian parliament based on it. Slutsky also supported the idea of creating a 'Eurasia 24' news channel, which will tell about events in the EEU countries.
The head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs also supports the establishment of a common educational space within the EEU. According to him, the Russian language is "cementing the foundation" of the Union. "We are concerned about the tendency to reduce the Russian-speaking space in the world. We should not allow the reduction of Russian-speaking educational space" Slutsky said. He believes that it is necessary to increase the number of Russian schools and universities which will prepare students in every EEU country in a new specialty called 'Eurasian integration'.
The participants in the first forum of young leaders of the EEU, which takes place in the State Duma, will discuss prospects of Eurasian integration, migration law, security in the world and other aspects, the head of the PR section of the State Duma, Yuri Shuvalov, said.
