MINSK, 21 June (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia should agree all the integration roadmaps by November. Prime Minister of Belarus Sergei Rumas made the relevant statement after meeting with Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on 21 June, BelTA has learned.
Sergei Rumas noted: “The updated action program [on developing the Union State of Belarus and Russia] will primarily stipulate roadmaps per branches of the economy. We should reconcile absolutely all the roadmaps by November.”
The prime minister said that after that the governments will have to do a huge amount of work to amend the legislation in order to allow the common markets to work in full. “When we talk about common markets or markets, some sectors of which are common, we understand we are talking about equal conditions for our commercial entities. And it is not important whether they are registered in the Russian Federation or the Republic of Belarus,” he remarked.
Sergei Rumas explained that equal business operation terms provide for equal taxation, equal components of the budget policy, equal prices for energy resources, and equal regulatory rules. “It is the end goal of integration,” he stressed.
Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Medvedev noted that the integration matters the sides had discussed can be figuratively divided into three baskets: one basket with uniform understanding of the essence and the timeframe of implementation, another basket where the sides understand decisions in the economic sphere and the social one in the same manner without any timeframe specified yet, and another basket that requires additional consultations.
In his words, today's negotiations between the heads of government of Belarus and Russia went well. The sides understand and hear each other's arguments in matters of integration.
Sergei Rumas specified that the first basket of integration matters is the largest one. “But two or three items in the third basket are the heaviest ones. They certainly need additional consultations,” he said.
