EU welcomes Russia’s WTO accession after 18 years of negotiations

Evangelia Koundouraki August 27th, 2012

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On 22 August 2012, after 18 years of negotiations, Russia joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as its 156th member.

The Working Party on the Accession of the Russian Federation was established on 16 June 1993. The Working Party completed its mandate on 10 November 2011, under the chairmanship of Ambassador Stefán Jóhannesson (Iceland). The Eighth Ministerial Conference formally approved the Accession Package of the Russian Federation on 16 December 2011.