The Round Table “Future of the companies of the Eurasian Economic Union in the EU” was held on April 28, 2017 in Berlin.

The Round Table was organized by the International Economic Senate (IWS) and the Financial & Banking Association of Euro-Asian Cooperation. The Round Table was supported by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the Eurasian Economic Commission.

The participants represented the following sectors of industry: ecological technologies and equipment, metal mining, energy infrastructure, measuring equipment for oil and gas industry and petro-chemistry.

The Round Table included the following speakers: Peter Nussbaum, Secretary General of IWS, Alexander Murychev, Chairman of the Coordinating Council of FBA EAC, Executive Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), , Prof. Doctor Frederico Foders, the President of IWS, Oleg Berezovoy, Director General of the Financial & Banking Association of Euro-Asian Cooperation, Markus Rauch, Executive Director of KEM KüppersElektromechanik GmbH, Kadyr Baikenov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Employers’ Confederation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Hans Uwe Koch, Executive Director of Prysiam Kabel undSysteme GmbH, Gunter Nickel, Member of the Supervisory Board of Kofler Energies AG, Egor Ivankov, Head of UCEX Representative office in Russia, Peter Varvaik, Executive Director of IMI Precision Engineering Norgren GmbH, Anatoliy Kazakov, Chairman of the Coordination Council of the CIS Economic Development Business Center, Tanya Galander, PwC Representative.

The Round Table was moderated by Vladimir Kotenev, member of the Coordinating Council of FBA EAC, Managing Director of «ECOVIS», Ambassador of Russia on standby, member of the Presidium of IWS.

The participants of the Round Table discussed economic situation in the world, main challenges: corruption, climate changes, ecology, criminal situation and terrorism. The most interesting for the German business areas for cooperation in the Asian part of Eurasia were mentioned: energy, extractive industries, chemicals, engineering, financial services and construction. The main threats for the German business here were bureaucracy, weak infrastructure from the Ural Mountains and further to the East, lack of qualified specialists and high loan interest rates.

Oleg Berezovoy, Director General of the Financial & Banking Association of Euro-Asian Cooperation pointed out in his speech that FBA EAC today is developing economic relations within EAEU, aiming to create and effective union attractive for external participants, as well as to build sustainable ties between the leading integration blocks of Europe and Asia. The EAEU states support a broad Eurasian partnership including China, India, Pakistan, Iran, CIS countries and others.

In conclusion the participants decided to create a business platform in Berlin and expressed hope that the geopolitical context of the dialogue between the EU and EAEU would change. That could revive and develop financial and economic cooperation of the two unions. While business meetings, round tables and forums could contribute to the implementation of a single economic area “form Lisboan to Vladivostok” advantageous for all the parties.