Historic EU agreement with #Kazakhstan

The European Parliament is poised to ratify a landmark partnership deal with Kazakhstan. It will be the first Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with a central Asian country. The deal showcases the deepened relationship between Kazakhstan and the European Union, and provides for greater trade and business relations between them writes Colin Stevens.

The new agreement with Kazakhstan is expected to provide a significant boost for trade and business between the two sides and has been welcomed by MEPs and the European Commission.

The PCA is expected to be rubberstamped by the parliament at the opening of its plenary in Strasbourg on Monday (11 December).

The EU has spent several years negotiating the content of the enhanced agreement, which the Parliament needs to ratify before it can fully go into effect.

Since the EU's top diplomat, High Representative Federica Mogherini, formally signed the agreement with her Kazakh counterpart Erlan Idrissov on 21 December 2015, the Kazakh authorities have renewed and intensified their efforts to meet EU demands on various issues and also push through internal reforms.

A spokesman for the European Institute for Asian Studies said,"The country has made tremendous progress in socio-economic development since gaining independence 26 years ago."

The EIAS says that this year, the country has hosted several major events, such as the 2017 EXPO, the creation of the Astana international financial centre  which aims to turn the city into a regional financial hub and  the launch of the IAEA Low Enrichment Uranium Bank.

In January 2017, the country’s President Nazarbayev also announced the country’s third modernization strategy, following their ambitious Strategy 2050 introduced in 2012, with the goal of becoming among the 30 most developed countries in the world in the medium-term; focusing on competitiveness, industrial development, decentralizing state management, liberalization and diversification towards manufacturing and innovative industries and the services sector.

This week's formal approval for the green-lighting for enhanced EU-Kazakhstan relations is now seen as recognition by the EU for such endeavours and has been broadly welcomed.

A commission spokesman told this website that the overall aim is to forge closer political and economic relations with Kazakhstan which, in turn, could help boost Kazakhstan's business and industrial sectors.

The spokesman went on: ““Kazakhstan is the first of our Central Asian partners having concluded an Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the European Union, and the EPCA is also one of the tools for supporting these reforms. I would also like to welcome the special and constructive regional role Kazakhstan has been playing in the Central Asian region. This is particularly important in light of Kazakhstan’s UN Security Council membership.”

The commission points out that the EU is Kazakhstan’s largest trading partner for the EU, and their economic and trade relations are governed by an enhanced partnership and cooperation agreement.

“It is important to continue to strengthen these economic links, both by enhancing the regulatory framework under which businesses operate, and by improving the investment environment for Kazakh companies in the EU, and EU companies operating in Kazakhstan.”

“For the EU, the Agreement constitutes an important step towards increased political and economic involvement in Central Asia. By strengthening political dialogue and improving cooperation in a broad range of areas, it will provide the basis for more effective bilateral engagement with Kazakhstan.”

Slovakian EPP MEP Eduard Kukan says he welcomed the transfer of functions to the Kazakh government or the Parliament from the President’s office, adding that the president’s “commitment to democratic reform is well noted and welcomed.”

Under plans announced in February for a more parliamentary form of governance there will be a “massive” redistribution of power. Many of the powers the president currently enjoys will be handed over to parliament and the government.

Further comment comes from the Brussels-based European Institute for Asian Studies (EIAS), whose spokesman said: “Being a key member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) Kazakhstan has already been playing a major role in the economic stability of central Asian region.”

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