Regional Free Movement of People at the Global Level: The Case of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAU)
Abstract
The paper research is on free movement of people at the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It introduces the main components of the EAEU’s free mobility regime, its promises and challenges. The author argues that the free movement of people regimes are not similar and respond to different needs and origins. Trying to answer, if free movement of people in the EAEU Treaty is the EU Model, the author discovers that in fact, the EAEU’s scheme finds its roots in regional treaties signed and developed in the post-Soviet space in the 1990s. The paper has a discussion on the challenges of implementation and interpretation and situates them within a larger global panorama of regional free mobility schemes beyond the EU. Conclusions are made with some thoughts and suggestions for future research, also in light of the general closure of borders during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper offers different insights on the free movement of workers at EAEU level. It has identified how the EU cannot really be considered as a model on several key aspects, notably the absence of the principle of non-discrimination enshrined in the Treaty and the lack of a secure residence status beyond the conclusion of an employment agreement. Researchers will need to continue to measure and investigate its implementation and the effects the free movement regime has in the inclusion of EAEU workers. More research will also be needed in light of the closure of borders during the pandemic and the effects that might have in the near future on the EAEU’s free movement regime.
About the Author
D. Acosta
University of Bristol
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Diego Acosta, Professor in European and Migration Law
Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ
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Review
Supporting agencies: The author would like to thank Ashleigh Guest for her revisions and comments.
For citation:
Acosta D. Regional Free Movement of People at the Global Level: The Case of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAU). Kutafin Law Review. 2021;8(4):602-625. https://doi.org/10.17803/2313-5395.2021.4.18.602-625
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