Eurasian conferences

International Conference "EAEU Strategies in the Age of New Protectionism"

On May 12, 2020 the international conference "EAEU Strategies in the Age of New Protectionism"organized by the Eurasian Sector of the Centre for Comprehensive European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics took place on the Zoom platform. Representatives of the academic and expert community from 12 countries, including EAEU member states, China, USA, Canada, Italy, Norway, Finland, the Netherlands - a total of more than 90 people - took part in the international conference in four sessions. The experts discussed the reasons, features, mechanisms and scope of potential impact of the new protectionism measures on the EAEU long-term development and proposed their vision of the most effective tools to respond to the new challenges.

Professor Sergey Karaganov, Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at National Research University Higher School of Economics, delivered a keynote speech, in which he shared his vision of the new protectionism phenomenon, calling it a systemic and long-term shift in international relations. The moderator of the first session "New Protectionism and Systematic Crises: What Does This Mean for the EAEU?" was Timofei Bordachev, Scientific Director of CCEIS, Program Director of the "Valdai" Discussion Club. During this session, experts discussed the instruments and limits of "new protectionism", analyzed the prospects for future development of mega-regional trade agreements as the main mechanism for liberalization, as well as the potential effects of sanctions and trade wars on the Eurasian economic integration.

The second expert session "In Search of an Optimal Strategy for the Development of the EAEU in the Context of the New Normality” was moderated by Olga Malashenkova, Associate Professor of the Department of International Relations of the Belarusian State University. The speakers discussed the necessary institutional solutions of the EAEU to minimize the negative consequences and the opportunities which new protectionism creates, assessed the prospective formats of EAEU interaction with third countries and regional integration associations and the launch of new Eurasian flagship projects.

Session 3 "Protectionism on the offensive": the prospects for "four freedoms in EAEU", was moderated by Miras Zhiyenbayev, researcher of the Eurasian sector of CCEIS at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Session 4 "Development of the system of foreign economic relations of the EAEU under the conditions of "new protectionism" was moderated by Yulia Belous, researcher of the Eurasian sector of CCEIS at the National Research University Higher School of Economics. Speakers of these sessions were young researchers, who participated in EAEU Exchange Program 2020 organized by the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics in partnership with the Eurasian Economic Commission.

During these sessions, young experts highlighted the most pressing issues on the current agenda and reaffirmed the importance of ensuring the "four freedoms" in the EAEU, offering new ideas on both the tactical steps necessary for the EAEU, and strategic initiatives aimed at ensuring the long-term development of each of the EAEU member states.

The draft memorandum with the main outcomes of the conference is available here: 

Memorandum (PDF, 997 Kb)