Freedom of Movement of Labour in the Eurasian Economic Union

Abstract

Regional integration has contributed to shaping the current geopolitical landscape profoundly across the globe. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, a number of regional integration projects came to life in the post soviet space, with varying degrees of success. Many of these projects took an economic direction, but it was not until 2015 that the Eurasian Economic Union was officially created. The Union was built upon the pre-existing Customs Union and maintained its objective of a free market. With freedom of the market also came freedom of movement of labor. Before that, the movement of the citizens was fully left to bilateral agreements and the Commonwealth of Independent States, but the EAEU allowed a whole new range of rights and protections for workers who wish to move across the five countries that are its members. This work will address the rights of workers in the EAEU, and the consequences of these rights on the citizens, the economy, and the society of the member states. A comparison with the European Union is also drawn, as it allows for input and reflection on how the EAEU can move forward and what its strengths and weaknesses are.