Epress.am News from Armenia
By entering the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) Armenia would concede one-third of its sovereignty and such decisions should only be made through a referendum, said HAK faction MP, former Prime Minister, and economist Hrant Bagratyan during EEU discussions in the National Assembly.
According to him, by entering the EEU, Armenia is leaving its relationship with the World Trade Organization to erode and is entering a regional model of imperialism instead.
“Imperialism is about bartering. Just tell me, what is being bartered (in the EEU)? The Soviet Union was not created for no reason, one was building their home, the other was heating it, the other brought bread, and Armenia was always given the honor of bringing the dessert. But today, without Ukraine, without the raw materials, that union can not take place. I’m obliged to give out a warning,” said Bagratyan.
According to the economist, it is also illogical that the country’s customs duties will increase from a 2 percent average to 8 percent.
“The lost opportunities are much greater than the benefits. You are only speaking of the benefits,” said Bagratyan to the supporters of the EEU. He stressed that Armenia should have demanded compensation for those losses.
The MP stated that a few economic indicators from 2010-2014 reveal what sort of changes Belarus, Russia, and Kazakhstan economies have suffered from the Customs Union. According to official statistics, during the past four years Belarus’ economy fell from a 7.7% growth rate to 1.2%, Russia’s growth rate from 4.5% to 0.8%, and Kazakhstan from a 7.3% down to 3.9%.