November 9, 2018
PAO Severstal, one of the world’s largest vertically integrated steel and mining companies, has signed in support of an initiative to create a Common Economic Space between Lisbon and Vladivostok. The relevant document was signed on November 9 in Minsk, during the conference “Eurasian Economic Union: significance, achievements, development prospects”.
The working group to create a Common Economic Space between Lisbon and Vladivostok was formed in 2015 on the initiative of Ulf Schneider, Chief Executive Officer of SCHNEIDER GROUP, Professor Alexander Rahr and the German-Russian Forum. In 2017, it was joined by the Eastern Committee of the German Economy and the Russian-German Chamber of Commerce, and in 2018 by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE).
The initiative has been supported by representatives from more than 150 companies across Germany, including Bosch, Siemens AG, Knauff, Claas, and Continental. Severstal is the first Russian company to join the initiative.
The working group’s activities are focused on three basic principles: a single visa space, uniform technical regulation requirements and a single transport and logistics space.
Alexey Mordashov, Chairman of the Board of Severstal, commented:
“In today’s economy, business goes beyond borders. Almost every large company is involved in some kind of cross-border activity, whether that be purchasing raw materials, equipment and components, exporting products or services, exchanging best practices with international peers, or creating joint ventures with foreign partners. Despite the significant increase in protectionism over recent years, cooperation between businesses in different countries is becoming more popular, and the topic of reducing the costs of transferring goods and services across borders is becoming increasingly relevant. I am convinced that showing business support for a Common Economic Space between Lisbon and Vladivostok will demonstrate to governments that there is strong appetite among entrepreneurs for deeper and further-reaching cooperation.”
