The Eurasian Economic Community

The Eurasian Economic Community is an international organization that ensures multilateral economic cooperation among its member states.

The EurAsEC was founded according to the Treaty on the Establishment of the Eurasian Economic Community, signed by the presidents of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tajikistan in Astana on October 10, 2000.

In January 2006 the Republic of Uzbekistan joined the Community, but suspended its participation in the work of the EurAsEC's governing bodies since 2008.

In May 2002 the Republics of Moldova and Ukraine were granted observer status at the EurAsEC, and in April 2003 the same status was granted to the Republic of Armenia.

Incorporated as an international legal body, in 2003 EurAsEC was granted observer status in the United Nations General Assembly. During its 62nd session in December 2007 the UN GA adopted the resolution "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC)".

EurAsEC member states occupy a total area of 20.3 m sq. km. Their population exceeds 181 m. The trade turnover of the member states has increased three times since 2002, and in 2007 exceeded USD 90 bn.

The establishment of the EurAsEC customs union and common economic space will enable the Community to become in the near future a rapidly developing organization for regional integration, able to ensure effective use of existing economic potential to raise the living standard of its peoples.

The War on Drugs

Drug precursors are chemical substances used to manufacture illicit drugs. Drug precursors can be extremely dangerous if they are diverted from the illicit channels for the illicit manufacturing of drugs. Drugs use and drugs dealing pose a big problem for various government agencies on the grounds of the number of drug overdose death and drug related homicides is increasing. This happens in spite of the fact that governments spend more and more money to solve the drug problem. Some people believe that the fight against drugs has failed because governments focus on controlling the problem through laws and punishments, rather than through drug education and treatment. They call for the legalization of drugs arguing that the current drug laws do more harm than good. They think that the high cost of illegal drugs and the enormous amounts of money to be made from drug dealing encourage more serious crime – for example many drug users turn to stealing to support their habit. Those who oppose legalization respond that if drugs were legalized drug use and addiction will skyrocket. They add that prohibition of drugs is an invasion of individual rights. Finally, there are those who feel that the problem of widespread drug abuse and crime can only be solved when the government attacks the root causes of the problem: poverty, racism and inequality. They propose that the government should deal with the factors that cause the problem by providing employment for all, increasing the minimum wage, improving health care for the poor, offering paid family leave, and providing affordable housing.