While the EAU is still only a customs union, the European Union’s experience suggests that a successful free-trade area leads over time to broader economic, monetary, and eventually political integration. Russia’s goal is not to create another North American Free Trade Agreement; it is to create another EU, with the Kremlin holding all of the real levers of power.
尽管欧亚联盟仍然仅仅是一个关税联盟，但欧盟的经验表明，假以时日，一个成功的自由贸易区能够带来更广泛的经济、货币以及最终的政治一体化。俄罗斯的目标不是成立第二个北美自由贸易协定；而是建立第二个欧盟，由克里姆林宫控制所有真正的权力。计划是清晰的：从关税联盟开始，——最初由俄罗斯、白俄罗斯和哈萨克斯坦组成——然后加入大部分其他前苏联共和国。事实上，现在亚美尼亚和吉尔吉斯斯坦已经行动起来。