Eurasian Union

From BBC news:
"Russia sees union with Belarus and Kazakhstan by 2015"

Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan have agreed to set up a Eurasian economic union, modelled on the EU, with a target date of 2015. The three countries already have a customs union but now aim to go further by removing trade barriers. Their respective presidents signed a deal to create an executive body similar to the European Commission. Earlier this year, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin denied the bloc would re-create the Soviet Union. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in particular are said to be looking at the project. In a newspaper article last month, Vladimir Putin insisted that there was no talk of reforming the USSR, arguing that it would be naive to copy what had been abandoned in the past. All three countries are still members of the Commonwealth of Independent States, along with eight other nations, including Ukraine.

^ i don't understand why they have to try and form a new union when they are already in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS.) Why can't the countries in the CIS just enhance the powers of that union like the European Union did (it used to be known as the European Community.) I don't think the Eurasian Union or the CIS will be effective or strong. ^

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-15790452