Kazakhstan - EU cooperation
General information
February 2, 1993 – diplomatic relations were established.
In December 1993, the Representative Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan was opened in the European Union, Brussels.
In November 1994, the Representative Office of the European Union was opened in the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty (relocated to Astana in 2007).
Since April 19, 2021, Mr. Baimukhan Margulan Bakytuly has been the Head of the Representative Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the EU and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the Kingdom of Belgium.
Since September 2021, the Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Kazakhstan is Mr. Kestutis Jankauskas (Republic of Lithuania).
Political cooperation
The European Union is one of the main political and economic partners of Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan-EU bilateral structures:
The Cooperation Council (chairs on the Kazakh side – the Minister of Foreign Affairs, on the European side – the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy or the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country presiding over the EU Council) – 20 meetings were held.
The Committee for Cooperation in the Political Configuration (chairs on the Kazakh side – supervising Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the European side – Deputy Managing Director, Director for Russia, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia and OSCE of the European External Action Service) – 20 meetings were held.
The Committee of Parliamentary Cooperation of the Republic of Kazakhstan-the EU (chairs from the Kazakh side – Chairman of the Committee on International Affairs, Defense and Security of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, from the European side – Chairman of the Delegation of the European Parliament for Central Asia and Mongolia) – 20 meetings were held.
Cooperation Committee in the Trade configuration (chairs on the Kazakh side – Vice-Minister of the Ministry of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the European side – Deputy Head of Unit for the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission) – 6 meetings were held.
There are 3 Subcommittees at the expert level:
The Subcommittee on Justice and Home Affairs, within the framework of which the Dialogue on Human Rights is taking place (chairs on the Kazakh side – the supervising Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Kazakhstan, on the European side – the head of the Central Asia Unit of the European External Action Service) - 20 meetings of the Subcommittee and 14 meetings of the Dialogue were held.
The Subcommittee on Energy, Transport, Environment and Climate Change (chairs from the Kazakh side – Director of the Department of International Cooperation of the Ministry of Energy, from the European side – Head of the Central Asia Unit, European External Action Service) – 6 meetings were held.
Subcommittee on Customs Affairs (chairs from Kazakhstan – Deputy Chairman of the State Revenue Committee, from Europe – Head of the Department for Trade Promotion, Rules of Origin and International Coordination (Europe and Neighboring Countries) Directorate General for Taxation and Customs Union of the European Commission) – 6 meetings were held.
Contacts at the highest level
Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan visited Brussels 10 times: 5 official visits – Nursultan Nazarbayev (1993, 2000, 2002, 2010), Head of Sate Kassym-Jomart Tokayev paid his first official visit to Brussels on 25-26 November 2021; and 5 working visits to Brussels – N. Nazarbayev (2006, 2010, 2014, 2016, 2018).
The Head of state held meetings with President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2022, as well as a meeting with Charles Michel on the sidelines of the CA-EU summit in Cholpon-Ata in June 2023.
Presidents of the European Council visited Kazakhstan 3 times: Herman Van Rompuy (2010), Donald Tusk (2019) and Charles Michel (2022).
The President of the European Commission visited Kazakhstan 1 time: Jose Barroso (2013).
High-level contacts (2010-2023)
Kazakhstan was visited by: EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Ms. Katherine Ashton (2010, 2012, 2013), Ms. Frederica Mogherini (2015), as well as Mr. Josep Borrell in November 2022, Executive Vice President of the European Commission Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis (May 2023), Vice President of the European Commission for European Green Deal, Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight Mr. Maros Sefcovic (June 2023), Vice President of the European Commission for Promoting our European Way of Life Mr. Margaritis Schinas (January 2024) and European Commissioner for Agriculture Mr. Janusz Wojciechowski (June 2023).
Belgium was visited by: Foreign Ministers Mr. Erzhan Kazykhan (2011, 2012), Mr. Erlan Idrissov (2013, 2016), Mr. Kairat Abdrakhmanov (2018), Mr. Mukhtar Tileuberdi (2020, 2021, January 2022, June 2022 - Luxembourg), Mr. Murat Nurtleu (May 2023, October 2023 - Luxembourg), First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration Mr. Timur Suleimenov (2022), Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration - Special Representative of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan for International Cooperation Mr. Erzhan Kazykhan (2021, March 2022, January 2024), Commissioner for Human Rights in the Republic of Kazakhstan Ms. Elvira Azimova (2021, March 2022), Minister of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Marat Beketaev (2021), Minister of Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Bakhyt Sultanov (2021), Head of the MIID K Mr. Kairbek Uskenbaev (2022), Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan Mr. Erulan Zhamaubaev (March 2023), Minister of Internal Affairs Mr. Erzhan Sadenov (October 2023).
Key treaties and agreements
The first legal basis of Kazakh-EU relations was the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA) between Kazakhstan and the EU, signed on January 23, 1995 in Brussels (entered into force on July 1, 1999).
Since Kazakhstan and the EU went through important political, economic and social changes after the signing of the PCA, it was decided to conclude a new basic agreement designed to reflect these changes.
In the period from June 2011 to October 2014, negotiations were held on a new Enhanced Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (covering 29 areas of interaction, including issues of international and regional security, trade, investment, infrastructure development, as well as innovation, culture, sports and tourism).
On December 21, 2015, the EPCA was signed.
On March 25, 2016, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan signed the Law on Ratification of the EPCA.
On 1 May 2016, the temporary application of certain provisions of the EPCA falling within the competence of the EU began.
On 12 December 2017, the European Parliament overwhelmingly agreed to the conclusion of the EPCA.
EPCA entered into force on March 1, 2020.
On 7 November, 2022, Memorandum of Understanding and strategic cooperation in the field of the value chain of raw materials, batteries and hydrogen between the Kazakhstan and the EU was signed. The document was signed by Prime Minister Mr. Alikhan Smailov and President of the European Commission Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, on the sidelines of the Summit of World Leaders of the Global Conference on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt).
On May 19, 2023, within the framework of the second EU-CA Economic Forum in Almaty, in the presence of Prime Minister Mr. Alikhan Smailov and Executive Vice President of the European Commission Mr. Valdis Dombrovskis, the Financial Agreement “Cooperation Facility” was signed.
Trade and economic cooperation
The European Union is the main trade and investment partner of Kazakhstan. The EU accounts for about half of Kazakhstan's foreign trade and accumulated foreign investment.
Trade turnover in January-November 2023 amounted to $37.7 billion (+ 3.2%), exports – $28.1 billion (-6.4%), imports – $9.6 billion (+32.3%).
Trade turnover for 2022 amounted to 40 billion USD, which is 27.6% higher than in 2021 (28.9 billion US dollars). Exports amounted to 32.4 billion US dollars, imports –7.6 billion US dollars. In 2021, the trade turnover amounted to 28.9 billion US dollars, which is 21.4% higher than in 2020 (23.8 billion US dollars).
For reference: the main export goods from Kazakhstan to the EU countries are: crude oil, petroleum products, uranium, hydrogen, inert gases and other non-metals, ferroalloys, flax seeds, titanium and products from it, uncombed cotton fiber, copper and copper cathodes, natural gas.
The main import goods to Kazakhstan from EU countries are: medicines packaged for retail sale, fittings for pipelines, computers, seamless pipes, tubes and profiles made of ferrous metals, dishwashers, equipment for filling and plugging containers, packaging of goods, other ferrous metal products, vaccines, blood serums, blood, car bodies.
The inflow of foreign direct investment (FDI) from the EU for the 1 half of 2023 amounted to 5.2 billion US dollars, which is 4.1% lower than in the same period of 2022. The main share of FDI from EU countries falls on the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, and Luxembourg.
An important role in deepening trade and economic relations is played by meetings on economic and business issues with the participation of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan and the EU Ambassadors in Astana (10 meetings were held).