ArmInfo. In Belarus and Armenia the rate of approval of Eurasian integration reduced in the recent year according to the results of the yearly research conducted by Eurasian Development Bank's (EDB) Centre for Integration Studies.
The research showed that the citizens of Armenia and Belarus demonstrated a lower level of support for their countries' participation in the union (56% and 60% respectively, or 8 percentage
points (p.p.) down on 2014). In Armenia, the number of those who feel indifferent or negative about the country's participation in the EAEU is also growing. During the poll of 2015, the respondents from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia were asked about their attitudes towards the creation of some common institutes within the EAEU such as the single currency, common laws, a common army, and a common governance body. "The research has shown that there is no single position on these issues among the population of all the four EAEU member countries. An exception is Armenia where 55% of people are for the single currency. Another exception is the attitude towards establishing a common army in Belarus and Russia where most people are against this possibility (57% and 53% respectively)", the EDB press-service says.
At the same time, the level of support for the countries' participation in the EAEU in Russia and Kazakhstan is 78% and 80%, respectively.
The EDB Centre for Integration Studies has conducted the research since 2012 in partnership with Eurasian Monitor, an international research agency. In 2015, over 11,000 people from nine CIS region countries - Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine - took part in the poll.
Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international financial institution founded by Russia and Kazakhstan in January 2006 with the mission to facilitate the development of market economies, sustainable economic growth, and the expansion of mutual trade and other economic ties in its member states. The member states of the Bank are the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, and the Republic of Tajikistan.