NUCLEAR POWER IN BELARUS AND WORLDWIDE
BISHKEK, 9 December (BelTA) – It is necessary to set up an independent payment system in the Eurasian Economic Union. Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Mikhail Myasnikovich mentioned it after an EAEU summit ended in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on 9 December, BelTA has learned.
Mikhail Myasnikovich said: “While the countries are not entirely ready to talk about some common currency, but digital currency means monetary sovereignty of the Eurasian Economic Union. This is why we have to go along… Not only transactions but the measure of value, I mean contract prices should be specified in national currencies, too. It will reduce dependence on hard currencies and consequences of volatility of national currencies.”
Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko also touched upon the matter in his speech during the summit. He said: “It is necessary to revitalize the blood system of our union by all means. I am talking about finance. Everyone understands already that the age of the U.S. dollar's dominance is nearly over. Future belongs to trade blocs where transactions will rely on national currencies.” The head of state noted that Belarus and Russia had already stopped using U.S. dollars in main transactions. “It is important for other partners to also get actively involved in this process,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.
Mikhail Myasnikovich had previously spoken in favor of using an independent currency and an independent payment system in the Eurasian Economic Union. He also made a few comments about it in an interview for BelTA's YouTube project On Point. He said. “I personally believe that it is the future. And it is the right approach. We have to come up with an independent payment system and an independent unit. But undoubtedly we have to also examine the European Union's experience. They used ecu [European Currency Unit, which was used in 1979-1999], euro, and so on. And we have what we have here. This is why I believe that the Eurasian Economic Union and not only the union… I think other countries may also join the system. But it seems to me there is good sense and interest in it.”
