Belarus, Russia to coordinate full package of integration programs before 2022 – Golovchenko
MINSK, Jul 5 - PrimePress. Belarus and Russia plan to coordinate the full package of integration programs to be used as the economic regulatory basis of the Union State by the end of 2021, Prime Minister of Belarus Roman Golovchenko said on July 4, 2021 on Belarus-1 TV channel.<br> <br> “In fact, this is about coordination, adjustment of technicalities. I maintain constant close contacts with my counterpart, the prime minister of Russia. The deputy prime ministers are working and meeting on a weekly basis. We strongly believe that the entire package of Union programs will be composed in the remaining months [until the end of 2021],” he said, “We have agreed on how to harmonize legislation, create equal conditions for business entities based on uniform principles and administration of taxes, their structure.”<br> <br> Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Vladimir Semashko said on June 28 that Minsk and Moscow were finalizing 28 integration programs, seeking to launch in the shortest time possible (by January 1, 2022) the common markets of oil, oil products, natural gas, common electric energy, and transport for joint industrial and agricultural policies, and to unify tax and customs legislation.<br> <br> As previously reported, the governments of Belarus and Russia initialled a Union State integration program in September 2019 and approved 31 roadmaps in various areas. Draft roadmaps were expected to be coordinated by November 2020, and Lukashenko and Putin were supposed to approve the entire package of integration documents on December 8, 2019 during the events timed to the 20th anniversary of the Belarus-Russia Union Treaty of December 8, 1999. The signing of the package did not take place. Belarus said that the parties failed to reach accompanying agreements on Russian energy prices, compensation for Belarus’ losses resulted from the tax manoeuvre in the Russian oil industry, and removal of barriers to Belarusian commodities in the Russian market. Lukashenko said he would not endorse the roadmaps unless the above fundamental issues are finally resolved.<br> <br> Lukashenko said on April 22, 2021 at the meeting with Putin in Moscow that Belarus and Russia had only two or three union programs of economic nature to coordinate. He said the parties planned to complete formalities on the agreements reached in the autumn of 2021 at a session of the Supreme State Council.<br> <br> Lukashenko suggested on July 1, 2021 at the plenary session of the VIII Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia to work out a Union State long-term integration strategy for the period to 2030, which would comprise particular projects with a focus on key priorities and development vectors. End<br> <br>
2021-07-05
Primepress
Belarus, Russia to coordinate full package of integration programs before 2022 – Golovchenko
“In fact, this is about coordination, adjustment of technicalities. I maintain constant close contacts with my counterpart, the prime minister of Russia. The deputy prime ministers are working and meeting on a weekly basis. We strongly believe that the entire package of Union programs will be composed in the remaining months [until the end of 2021],” he said, “We have agreed on how to harmonize legislation, create equal conditions for business entities based on uniform principles and administration of taxes, their structure.”
Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Vladimir Semashko said on June 28 that Minsk and Moscow were finalizing 28 integration programs, seeking to launch in the shortest time possible (by January 1, 2022) the common markets of oil, oil products, natural gas, common electric energy, and transport for joint industrial and agricultural policies, and to unify tax and customs legislation.
As previously reported, the governments of Belarus and Russia initialled a Union State integration program in September 2019 and approved 31 roadmaps in various areas. Draft roadmaps were expected to be coordinated by November 2020, and Lukashenko and Putin were supposed to approve the entire package of integration documents on December 8, 2019 during the events timed to the 20th anniversary of the Belarus-Russia Union Treaty of December 8, 1999. The signing of the package did not take place. Belarus said that the parties failed to reach accompanying agreements on Russian energy prices, compensation for Belarus’ losses resulted from the tax manoeuvre in the Russian oil industry, and removal of barriers to Belarusian commodities in the Russian market. Lukashenko said he would not endorse the roadmaps unless the above fundamental issues are finally resolved.
Lukashenko said on April 22, 2021 at the meeting with Putin in Moscow that Belarus and Russia had only two or three union programs of economic nature to coordinate. He said the parties planned to complete formalities on the agreements reached in the autumn of 2021 at a session of the Supreme State Council.
Lukashenko suggested on July 1, 2021 at the plenary session of the VIII Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia to work out a Union State long-term integration strategy for the period to 2030, which would comprise particular projects with a focus on key priorities and development vectors. End