Kazakh President says Eurasian Union needs ‘different currency’

PanARMENIAN.Net - None of the national currencies of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is suitable for the role of the single currency of the Eurasian Economic Union, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev said on Saturday, November 19.

On Friday, Russian, Belarusian and Kazakh presidents signed an agreement to establish the Eurasian Economic Commission, a supranational body to manage the countries’ integration into the new union.

"First of all, we should prove for ourselves expediency and parity of our economic space. After that, a question of a single currency will arise," Nazarbayev told in an interview to RIA Novosti. "I believe that none of the national currencies, including such a powerful one as the ruble is suitable for this role. It should be a different name and it should be a different currency."

He also added that the countries were not discussing the introduction of a single currency.

"Integration begins by the creation of a free trade zone, then a customs union, then a common economic space. An economic union is built afterwards and a unit of account like ECU in Europe (the European Currency Unit used as the unit of account of the European Community before being replaced by the euro) is introduced," Nazarbaev said.

"It is necessary to create all this, and then to think about a single currency," he added.