“Before we start considering the issues on the agenda of the 59th session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, I want to identify the tasks that we should solve in the framework of the parliamentary dimension.
First of all, this is the approximation of legislation to ensure equal rights of citizens of our countries and increasing the efficiency of joint projects.
In this difficult year, life showed that we need to develop union integration and enhance our cooperation in the interests of our fraternal peoples. New challenges have appeared, like coronavirus infection and economic problems.
In this situation, we need to do everything possible to protect people, help them, and support the affected industries. I would like to recall that on the territory of the Union State, our citizens have equal rights to medical assistance.
According to the agreements reached between our Presidents, Belarus will be the first country to receive the Russian vaccine against coronavirus. Now the issue of organizing its production on the territory of Belarus is being worked out.
I want to emphasize another threat that we have faced this year.
I mean the attempts of foreign interference in the internal affairs of sovereign Belarus after the presidential elections. We adopted a relevant statement of the Council of the Parliamentary Assembly on this situation in August.
We all pay attention to inadmissibility of such actions.
All internal issues of the state should be resolved by the citizens, without foreign pressure and interference.
We consider it unacceptable that foreign states carry out openly an information campaign against Belarus, finance oppositions, and try to destabilize the socio-political situation in the republic.
Let me emphasize that within the framework of the Treaty on the Establishment of the Union State, Russia and Belarus are building relations on the principles of equality, friendship, mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs.
Our task is to reach practical solutions to issues through the harmonization of legislation and that would make lives of citizens of our countries better.
We should work more effectively to form a common legal space. This is a necessary condition for the enhancement of economic cooperation, which is very important for development of our countries.
Trade cooperation with Russia is half of the total Belarusian trade turnover. Belarus is our main trade partner among the CIS member states. We need to create equal market conditions for our companies and support small and medium-sized businesses.
The work on abolition of roaming on the territory of the Union State is almost completed. On November 1, Belarusian and Russian telecom operators began to work in test mode under a new tariffication system that reduces the cost of calls.
We expect that next year our citizens will pay less for telephone calls on the territory of the Union State.
The Parliamentary Assembly will continue to work on the draft concept of approximation of the legislation of Russia and Belarus.
We need to form model legislation on modern key problems and challenges. It would be right to discuss specific issues for the first model legislative acts at parliamentary hearings next year. These issues are our priority.
We attach great importance to today's meeting, as we can consider a number of issues related to the budget and determine priorities to build the work of the Union State more effectively.
Dear colleagues, I am glad to see you, even via videoconference, but I hope that next year we will meet personally at the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly. And, of course, we will communicate more with each other.
We are experiencing quite hard times. There are a lot of challenges. The main issue is countering the coronavirus infection, protecting our citizens, and providing support to the affected industries.
However, we can see what a difficult world we live in — a world of double standards, world full of threats, challenges when a number of countries try to interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign states. We should do everything to prevent that. People of our countries are the source of power, and we should do everything so that our citizens would choose the future of the states themseves.
In this regard, I hope that, even despite the fact that the holidays are coming, our Commissions will continue to work even more effectively so that through the formation of model laws, harmonization of legislation of the Union State, we could address common challenges and threats, develop our economies and do everything possible to ensure that citizens of our countries would see the results, when living standards are raised, and we can protect more effectively, having additional opportunities through the Union authorities.
Today we will consider an important issue — the draft budget of the Union State for 2021.
The main funds of the budget will be used to finance nine programs and twenty-six events in such areas as ensuring border security, improving military infrastructure, developing agriculture, protecting information resources in the face of growing external threats.
It is important to provide parliamentary control over budget execution. It would be right if the relevant commissions organize work on monitoring programs and joint projects of the Union State. And, if necessary, propose measures to improve the efficiency of spending budget funds.”
