Legal Aspects of Multi-Speed Integration in the EU and the EAEU: Experience and Prospects

   The paper provides a comparative analysis of the legal mechanisms of multi-speed integration in the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union. The authors explore key differences in approaches: in the EU, multi-speed integration is implemented through supranational procedures (e.g., enhanced cooperation), whereas in the Eurasian Economic Union it is based on bilateral agreements (e.g., a deeper level of integration is provided for in Article 114 of the 2014 Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union). Particular attention is given to the historical development of these mechanisms, their practical application (as in the example of the Schengen area, the unitary patent in the European Union, and transport policy in the Eurasian Economic Union), as well as the challenges associated with maintaining the unity of integration associations. Recommendations are proposed for improving legal regulation in the Eurasian Economic Union, including the possibility of concluding multilateral agreements and strengthening coordination between member states.

1. Aliev M. R. Sud Soyuznogo gosudarstva kak chast politicheskoy integratsii Rossii i Belarusi. Prichiny otsutstviya i perspektivy poyavleniya // The Newman in Foreign policy. — 2021. — T. 4. — № 61 (105). — S. 22–26.

2. Babynina L. O. Primenenie prodvinutogo sotrudnichestva — novyy trend razvitiya Evropeyskogo soyuza // Vestnik MGIMO-Universiteta. — 2014. — № 4(37). — S. 148–154. — doi: 10.24833/2071-8160-2014-4-37-148-154.

3. Baskakova I. A. Prichiny neeffektivnosti integratsionnogo sotrudnichestva gosudarstv Tsentralnoy Azii v 1990-e gody // Vestnik RGGU. Seriya «Evraziyskie issledovaniya. Istoriya. Politologiya. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya». — 2019. — № 1. — S. 33–43.

4. Bakhlova O. V., Bakhlov I. V. Stsenarii evolyutsii Soyuznogo gosudarstva Belarusi i Rossii: tsennosti i pragmatika // Gumanitariy: aktualnye problemy gumanitarnoy nauki i obrazovaniya. — 2022. — T. 22. — № 1 (57). — S. 9–26.

5. Voynikov V. V., Amiraslanov R. R. Institut prodvinutogo sotrudnichestva v prave Evropeyskogo soyuza: evolyutsiya pravovogo regulirovaniya // Moskovskiy zhurnal mezhdunarodnogo prava. — 2024. — № 3. — S. 49–62. — doi: 10.24833/0869-0049-2024-3-49-62.

6. Gulyaeva K. V. Stanovlenie integratsionnykh modeley Evropeyskogo soyuza i Sodruzhestva Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv: sravnitelnyy analiz : dis. … kand. polit. nauk : 23.00.04. — SPb., 2010.

7. Dzhantaleeva M. Sh. Perspektivy rasshireniya i razvitiya EAES // Kaspiyskiy region: politika, ekonomika, kultura. — 2022. — № 1 (70). — S. 91–97.

8. Evdokimov M. A., Amiraslanov R. R. Pravovye aspekty gibkoy integratsii: potentsial EAES // Pravo i upravlenie. XXI vek. — 2024. — № 20 (2). — S. 11–18. — doi: 10.24833/2073-8420-2024-2-71-11-18.

9. Maryshev A. A. Sopryazhenie integratsionnykh potentsialov dogovorno-pravovoy bazy EAES i SNG: sovremennoe sostoyanie i perspektivy sovershenstvovaniya // Evraziyskaya integratsiya: ekonomika, pravo, politika. — 2023. — № 17 (1). — S. 119–125. — doi: 10.22394/2073-2929-2023-01-119-125.

10. Mirboboev R. M. Rol torgovo-ekonomicheskoy integratsii v razvitii Tsentralnoy Azii // Vestnik Tadzhikskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta prava, biznesa i politiki. Seriya obshchestvennykh nauk. — 2023. — T. 95. — № 2. — S. 94–103.

11. Silkin A. E. Garmonizatsiya zakonodatelstva o sotsialnom obespechenii gosudarstv — uchastnikov Soyuznogo gosudarstva Rossii i Belarusi : dis. … kand. yurid. nauk : 12.00.05. — M., 2016. — 211 s.

12. Spektor E. A., Shchankina L. N. Soyuznoe gosudarstvo Belarusi i Rossii: istoriko-pravovoy aspekt // Aktualnye voprosy gumanitarnykh i sotsialnykh nauk: ot teorii k praktike : materialy Vserossiyskoy nauch.-prakt. konf. s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem (Cheboksary, 19 yanvarya 2023 g.) / redkol.: Zh. V. Murzina [i dr.]. — Cheboksary: ID «Sreda», 2023. — S. 345–346.

13. Troitskiy V. A. Formy ekonomicheskoy integratsii gosudarstv — uchastnikov Sodruzhestva Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv. — SPb.: Izd-vo Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta, 2008. — 196 s.

14. Shaykhutdinova G. R. Prodvinutoe sotrudnichestvo gosudarstv v Evropeyskom prave : dis. … d-ra yurid. nauk : 12.00.10. — Kazan, 2007. — 360 s.

15. Böttner R. The constitutional framework for enhanced cooperation in EU law. — Leiden, The Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2021. — 397 p.

16. Evolution of Schengen / M. Piechowicz [et al.] // Polish Political Science Yearbook. — 2017. — Vol. 46. — No. 1. — P. 121–137.

17. Fabbrini F. Enhanced Cooperation under Scrutiny: Revisiting the Law and Practice of Multi-Speed Integration in Light of the First Involvement of the EU judiciary // Legal Issues of Economic Integration. — 2013. — Vol. 40. — No. 3. — P. 197–224.

18. König F., Trauner F. From Trevi to Europol: Germany’s role in the integration of EU police cooperation // Journal of European Integration. — 2021. — Vol. 43. — No. 2. — P. 175–190.

19. Kortenberg H. Closer cooperation in the Treaty of Amsterdam // Common Market Law Review. — 1998. — Vol. 35. — No. 4. — P. 833–854.

20. Kroll D. A., Leuffen D. Enhanced cooperation in practice. An analysis of differentiated integration in EU secondary law // Journal of European Public Policy. — 2015. — Vol. 22. — No. 3. — P. 353–373.