The Eurasian Union as a Tool of Russian Geopolitics
207Figure 11-1: Universal stages of economic integration.^26
The first stage of Eurasian regional integration was the Free Trade
Area (FTA) zone, which had already become operational in the area of the
free movement of goods.^27 In this regard, eleven former Soviet republics
signed an FTA agreement in October 2011.^28 Furthermore, the formation
of the Customs Union was introduced as the second stage of Eurasian
regional integration. For that matter, an area of common customs was
created, based on the Treaty on the Establishment of the Customs Union.
Moreover, the customs duties and the economic restrictions were removed
from reciprocal trade within the common customs area.^29 According to the
(^26) Ibid, 15.
(^27) Ibid, 14.
(^28) Agreement on the Creation of Free-Trade Area.
(^29) Eurasian Economic Integration: Facts and Figures, 14.