The Eurasian Economic Union is the outcome of a series of agreements and integration efforts among some of the former Soviet states. Discussions regarding a Customs Union began in 2006, and the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan came into effect in 2010. The same three countries launched a Single Economic Space in 2012. The Eurasian Economic Union builds on the foundations of these initiatives, with integration efforts spanning trade, energy, industry and competition and transport regulations. Policymakers in the region have envisioned an economic bloc with the free movement of goods, services and labor. Like the European Union, the Eurasian Economic Union provides a large-scale bureaucratic structure, which includes more than 23 different departments. The Eurasian Economic Union requires unanimity for major decisions, but like the Customs Union the new bloc leaves much room for informal political bargaining and exemptions based on domestic economic and political considerations.