Abstract:

The article is devoted to the research of the crucial sector of integration in the humanitarian sphere of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). It is the common space of higher education being established since 2015. The article seeks several tasks. They are: to substantiate the significance of the development of EAEU-countries integration in the field of education as one of the drivers for future economic integration; to reveal and explain the reasons for the refusal to include education as the subject of the EAEU Treaty in 2014; to research the content of Russian initiatives on the establishment of the Eurasian Network University and the Advisory Council in Higher education as mechanisms for educational cooperation of the EAEU countries outside the framework of the EAEU Treaty; the last but not the least - to form assessments and recommendations regarding possible steps on the Russian side to develop cooperation in higher education in the framework of the EAEU. Each economic integrative organization implies a common service market. Understanding that education is also a service, the urgent issue is the formation of a common market for educational services with common standards and equal competition, ultimately also aimed at improving the quality of human capital and the competitiveness of participating countries. A special case and request for higher education and advanced training systems is the training of personnel (specialists in customs, technical regulation, etc .; managers, consultants, analysts, experts) necessary for the work of economic union institutions and authorities of member countries, and to assist businesses in using development opportunities in the new legal and economic framework of integration. The positive experience of the European Union (EU) shows how significant the agreed policies and investments from the EU’s common budget in the formation of a common educational space are considered to be to strengthen the economic competitiveness of this integration association. For the EAEU, as a project for deep economic integration, the education sector is cross-cutting, covering the most diverse aspects of interaction. In some cases, the general norms and mechanisms related to education are the basic condition, in other cases it is the driver of integration of the countries participating in the association.

Keywords:

EAEU, education, common space, cooperation, unification, Eurasian Network University.