The System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration 2009

By publishing this first Report on the System of Indicators of Eurasian Integration (SIEI), we hope to lay the foundations of a new long-term project. It is expected that from now on the EDB will collect data and calculate the indicators on an annual basis. The respective reports will be made available to state bodies, international organisations, scientific circles, the mass media and the general public. The benefits and the “media effect” of the SIEI will be multiplied even further if these calculations are produced on a systematic basis over a lengthy time span. The data presented in this first edition of the SIEI illustrates the dynamics of integration between 1999 and 2008. This period is used as a benchmark in studying the development of postSoviet countries after the “Big Bang” of the 1990s. Another important challenge that we have set ourselves is to trace and demonstrate the main trends of integration of the rapidly evolving post-Soviet economies and societies, the activities of integration institutions, and the effect of integration initiatives and decisions