ST. PETERSBURG, 6 December (BelTA) - Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko is taking part in the session of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in St. Petersburg on 6 December, BelTA informs.
The summit is held at the presidential Library named after Boris Yeltsin located in the historical downtown of St. Petersburg.
In the narrow format the heads of state are expected to discuss further advancement of integration processes, the implementation of the EAEU's digital agenda, and the formation of common markets of natural gas, oil, and oil products.
The latter issue is especially important for Belarus. In the recent interview with Russia 24 TV channel Alexander Lukashenko said why the Belarusian side pays much attention to this issue. “Everybody says that Lukashenko is obsessed with gas, oil and so on. It is important for us that Belarusian enterprises work in equal conditions with companies from Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Smolensk. Then we will have a normal competitive environment. What it means when an enterprise in Kazakhstan or Russia works in better conditions than ours? It means that our enterprises will go off the market over time,” the Belarusian leader said.
As for the distribution of import customs duties, at the meeting with the EAEU heads of state in Minsk Alexander Lukashenko said that Belarus does not support the proposal to re-extend the existing mechanism. “The issue related to the distribution of import customs duties remains on the agenda. This topic was discussed in detail at the Supreme Council in Sochi on 14 May. The heads of state agreed that the finance ministers will be working on the method of distributing duties until December 2018 and report on the results. The proposal to re-extend the existing mechanism is absolutely unprofitable for Belarus. We have repeatedly said this. Of course, as my government informs me, we cannot support it,” he said.
Otherwise, according to the head of state, Belarus will be placed into unequal conditions. He suggested taking efforts to reach a fair solution. “The matter should become less political and more economic,” the Belarusian leader believes.
The digital agenda becomes a more and more important aspect of joint work in the EAEU, the head of state said. The countries have a good theoretical and legal framework. Today the main task is to determine major digital solutions which can facilitate transboundary and inter-industry cooperation. “Minsk is prepared to take an active part in the implementation of these proposals,” Alexander Lukashenko said as he met with the EAEU heads of government.
Apart from that, the agenda includes items relating to the main directions of the EAEU's international activity, competition on transboundary markets, and cooperation in providing space and geoinformation services.
The heads of state will also consider the budget of the union for 2019 and other issues.
