The Eurasian Economic Union comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan should take into account the experience and mistakes of the European Union countries, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

“We see what is happening with our neighbors who have encountered well-known difficulties,” he said at a meeting with Viktor Khristenko, who was recently appointed to head the newly established Eurasian Economic Commission, a supranational body to integrate the three former Soviet republics within a common economic space.

“I hope that you and your colleagues… will take into account both the achievements and mistakes of our EU neighbors,” Putin said, stressing it was critical to avoid repeating those mistakes.

In November, the Russian, Belarusian and Kazakh presidents signed a declaration on Eurasian economic integration, a roadmap of integration processes aimed at creating the Eurasian Economic Union, which will be based on the Customs Union and common economic space among the three countries.

President Dmitry Medvedev earlier said Russia expected the Eurasian Economic Union to be up and running by 2015.