MOSCOW. June 19. KAZINFORM The introduction of the common currency in Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan is a distant prospect and is not on the agenda now, Minister for Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) Tatiana Valovaya told a press conference in Moscow on 18 June, BelTA has learnt.

Tatiana Valovaya noted that the possibility to introduce a common currency had been discussed by the former Soviet Union republics for a long time and in different formats. An attempt to introduce a common currency was made by the Union State of Belarus and Russia. Before introducing a common currency in integration projects one should analyze the internal demand for it, the minister believes. "The need should grow out of economic integration. The European Union introduced euro because the European business badly needed a common currency".

Tatiana Valovaya emphasized that a common currency is the pinnacle of economic integration. "Now we need to analyze and coordinate the macroeconomic policy in order to prevent imbalances on the common market. The decision to introduce a common currency and its form will depend on the progress in integration," she said, Kazinform cites BelTA.