Allied plans

The meeting of the Supreme State Council, the implementation of the Union State programmes, the creation of a media holding and the concept of information security — these and other topics were the focus of attention during the meeting of President of Belarus Aleksandr Lukashenko with State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev.

“It’s good that we start this year with this event. Frankly speaking, we need to update the agenda of the Union State and start by analysing the results of the path we have travelled and making plans for the future. To do this, it is necessary to convene the highest bodies of our Union State in a face-to-face format and hold an appropriate meeting. I think that it would be possible to choose an algorithm for the Council of Ministers to hold its meeting, and based on the results, we will determine the time of the meeting of the Supreme State Council, which will be held at the level of the highest officials of our Union State,” said  Aleksandr Lukashenko.
The main issues on the bilateral agenda should be the implementation of sectoral programmes, the President emphasised, “Economic, scientific, humanitarian and other programmes that we finance should not be reduced in any case. We only need to increase funding, based on the most relevant principles and areas of our work in the economy: import substitution and so on. What our states need now — both Belarus and Russia as well.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed the need to speed up work on the creation of a union media holding, “I remind you again: our common decision, the presidents of Russia and Belarus, is to create a good, solid, powerful, necessarily modern one. Otherwise, we will spend money, but there will be no sense. I am not a supporter of fastening to something, transferring to someone. We need an independent holding that corresponds to the spirit of the times… I think that this media holding should start working this year, preferably in the first half of the year.”
Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed that the administrations of the presidents of Belarus and Russia should work on this issue together with the Standing Committee of the Union State.
“We know some of your proposals. They are absolutely normal in Belarus. The only thing is that this complex, a media holding, must be independent, if we want to create something serious and complete the 28 programmes that we defined at the time. This movement should be continued,” added the President of Belarus.
Dmitry Mezentsev came to the meeting with the Head of State with a few more proposals. The President touched on some of them.
“I fully accept and like the proposal to de-bureaucratise the activities and the Standing Committee (first of all, you are officials), and that you, from the Standing Committee, send the main messages and impulses to de-bureaucratise the system related to the work of the bodies of the Union State,” said the Belarusian leader. “I think that we will meet again before the meeting of the All-Union State Council after the Union Council of Ministers. Take some time for us to sit down and work out the agenda for the Supreme State Council. Talk to the Administration of President Putin on schedules. We will decide here. If necessary, I will have a talk with President Putin, and we will determine the final agenda for submission to the meeting of the Supreme State Council. And then we will determine the time, we will agree.”

As of January 1st, 2023, 28 Union State programmes were completed by 67.8 percent. 671 out of 989 events were implemented. About 300 more events are expected to be implemented in 2023. 7 programmes were completed in full:
• on the integration of information systems of state regulatory authorities on the traceability of goods;
• integration of transport control information systems;
• harmonisation of currency regulation and currency control;
• harmonisation of requirements in the field of combating money laundering and terrorist financing for the financial sector;
• unification of accounting regulation;
• integration of information systems of state regulatory bodies in terms of veterinary and quarantine phytosanitary control.
• on the development of nuclear energy. The full operation of the first power unit of the Belarusian NPP has been ensured, the launch of the second unit is expected in August 2023.
The implementation of the union programme in the field of harmonisation of tax and customs legislation is at its final stage.

Based on materials of sb.by and belta.by