12 June 2017

IIASA at the SPIEF 2017

The “Lisbon to Vladivostok” concept was the main topic in Saint-Petersburg.

© The Roscongress Foundation

© The Roscongress Foundation

On June, 1-3 2017 more than two thousand Russian and international participants from Russia, the CIS countries, Europe, China, India, Japan, South Korea, South America, as well as other regions and countries, gathered at the annual Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2017). The concept of a common economic space from Lisbon to Vladivostok was one of the main focus points of the forum. This year, IIASA was represented by Evgeny Vinokurov, Director, Center for Integration Studies, EDB & Senior Research Scholar, IIASA and Jurij Kofner, Research Assistant, IIASA.

IIASA Futures Initiative "Challenges and Opportunities of Economic integration within a wider European and Eurasian Space"

IIASA conducts a research project on the topic of the economic integration between the European Union (EU), the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and their neighbors under the title “Challenges and Opportunities of Economic integration within a wider European and Eurasian Space”. Its aim is to discuss, analyze, and critically evaluate the potential for the creation of a common economic space between the EU, EAEU, and other relevant countries.

The amount and geographical structure of the foreign business representatives, mainly French and German, showed that European business pays big attention to and supports the concept of the "EU - EAEU common economic space". Three SPIEF sessions were explicitly dedicated to this topic, namely: "Europe at the Crossroads: Risks and Prospects"; "European and Eurasian integration", as well as the international "Conference on the development of cooperation in the area from Lisbon to Vladivostok" (31 May) which took place at "day zero" of the forum with the participation of leading consulting companies (e.g. SCHNEIDER GROUP) and business associations from Germany, France and Italy.

Many forum participants emphasized that in the geo-economic sense, the EU-EAEU common economic space is rational for both parties primarily as a combination of European capital and technology with Eurasian resources and human capital. Such an alliance can help both sides to remain competitive in the 21st century. Moreover, the Lisbon-to-Vladivostok concept should be seen not as an alternative, but rather as part of the “Big Eurasian Partnership” (BEP) idea.

The positive role and need of more scientific support was acknowledged and IIASA’s project on Eurasian economic integration was mentioned multiple times as a good example of such. 


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Last edited: 12 June 2017

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