1. Elena Rovenskaya Advanced Systems Analysis Program IIASA
Challenges and Opportunities  of Economic Integration  within a wider European and Eurasian Space
Elena Rovenskaya
Advanced Systems Analysis Program
IIASA

2. Motivation
Rising interest towards regional integration in various new forms and depth of world-wide international economic policies during the last few decades
Further enlargement of the EU and development of the EU Eastern Partnership (EaP) initiative
Establishment of the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan (RBK-CU) and its subsequent evolution into the Single Economic Space (SES) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)
Need for independent interdisciplinary holistic assessment of costs and benefits of various integration scenarios!

3. Why IIASA?
Desperate need for East-West science diplomacy at the moment
Great chance for IIASA to reinvigorate its important historical role in bridging divided parts of the world
Visibility in policy: EU, USA, Russia
Visibility in economics: Multi-model ensembles, inter-model comparison

4. Project Goal
To discuss and analyze critical issues of economic cooperation between the enlarged EU, RBK-CU/SES/EEU and their neighbors including the key Asian players, such as China, Korea and Japan Key dimensions: trade, energy, electricity market, transport, investment, labor movement, non-tariff barriers etc.

5. Pilot Phase
Aim: build community and set up the agenda for larger research project
Timeframe: 2014 – 2015
Format: Series of round table discussions
Follow up materials: reports, policy notes, white papers, position papers etc.
Funding:
Eurasian Development Bank
Eurasian Economic Commission
Involvement of key institutions:
DG Trade, European Commission
Presidential Administration of Russian Federation

6. Team IIASA team: Core group: Pavel Kabat (Coordinator)
Elena Rovenskaya
Leena Ilmola
Nadejda Komendantova
Core group:
Anastasia Stepanova (Project Manager)
Evgeniy Vinokurov, Director, Centre for Integration Studies, Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), Russia
Peter Havlik, Staff Economist, The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), Austria
Michael Emerson, Associate Senior Research Fellow, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Belgium

7. Pilot Phase Key research partners:
Aleksanteri Institute, University of Helsinki, Finland
Centre for Integration Studies, Eurasian Development Bank, Russia  
Institute for Economies in Transition, Bank of Finland, Finland
Institute for Economic Forecasting, Russian Academy of Sciences, Russia
Institute of Economics and Forecasting, National Academy of Sciences, Ukraine 
Research Center, Institute for Privatization and Management (IPM), Belarus
Scientific Center for Eurasian Integration, Russia
The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (wiiw), Austria
Broader involvement of researchers, experts and decision makers from interested countries, notably IIASA’s NMO countries, is needed!

8. Round tables
WS1: Methodology for assessing regional economic integration March 2014
WS2: Trade policy regimes July 2014
WS3: Technical standards, regulations & non-tariff barriers November 2014
WS4: Transport infrastructures
WS5: Energy markets and common electric power market
WS6: Labour market, acknowledgement of professional qualifications & migration
WS7: Investment protection and intellectual property rights
WS8: Prospects for Greater Eurasia from Atlantic to Pacific

9. Each round table Is preceded by
Scanning the research and expert communities and identifying proper experts recognized in a particular focal theme, inviting those experts
Preparation of one or more background reports by the core group and in some cases outside colleagues to be presented at the round table
Is followed by
Preparation of the synthesis report
Preparation of other follow up materials (papers, notes etc.)

10. Results so far More to come! Two synthesis reports are being prepared
A note on methodological challenges has been drafted
I. Pelipas, I. Tochitskaya, E. Vinokurov (2014): Quantifying Economic Integration: Of the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union: Methodological Approaches, IDB Report 23.
More to come!

11. More information: www. iiasa. ac
More information: Contact: Elena Rovenskaya