election of 2004 was a significant blow against the project: Yushchenko had shown renewed interest in Ukrainian membership in the European Union, and such membership would have been incompatible with the envisioned common economic space. On March 1, 2010 the first deputy head of the presidential administration of newly elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Iryna Akymova stated that Ukraine does not intend to join the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus in the near future "Since the customs union contradicts and will greatly complicate Ukraine's membership in the WTO". A single market for the Eurasian Economic Community came into effect in January 2012, followed by the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union on 1 January 2015. Eurasian Customs Union Forming a customs union between EurAsEC member states became a top priority from Spring 2008, when the EU announced its Eastern Partnership. Since that time, there has been discord between the EU and Russia with both sides accusing the other of attempting to carve out spheres of influence over the countries at issue (Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine). A supranational body of the customs union—the Eurasian Economic Commission—was established on December 12, 2008. Boiled down to its essence, Russia has offered EurAsEC members access to its markets (i.e., for Kazakhstan) and lower energy prices (i.e., Belarus, Ukraine). The EU's offer to membership countries amounts to promises of de facto EU integration, such as relaxed visa entry requirements. Kazakhstani President Nursultan Nazarbayev had proposed the creation of a common noncash currency called yevraz for the community. This would have reportedly helped insulate the countries from the global economic crisis. On 3 September 2013, EUobserver reported that Armenia had decided to join the Eurasian Customs Union. The website quoted a Russian government communique stating that, "Armenia [has] decided to join the Customs Union and take the necessary practical steps to subsequently participate in the formation of the Eurasian Economic Union." Anti-Crisis Fund On 9 June 2009, Member States of the EurAsEC in collaboration with Armenia, announced the establishment of an anti-crisis of Eurasec Fund to deal with the 2009 financial crisis. The Russian Finance Minister, Alexei Kudrin clarified: "The money from the fund will be used to grant sovereign loans and stabilization credits to Member States and to finance interstate investment projects. Therefore, this fund will be a kind of replica of the Regional International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the