GRODNO, 1 July (BelTA) – Belarus and Russia need to improve their legislation in accordance with the integration tasks, Chairwoman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus Natalya Kochanova said at the plenary session “The role of interregional cooperation in deepening the Union State integration processes” at the 9th Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia in Grodno on 1 July, BelTA has learned.
“MPs have a lot of work to do in order to develop the main areas of the Treaty on the Union State for 2021-2023 and the 28 programs of the Union State. More than 400 acts and bilateral agreements should be adopted. Special attention should be paid to the development of model lawmaking designed to harmonize national legislation and law enforcement practice. It is time to finally decide if the concept of harmonizing the legislation of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, which has been developed for several years, is in demand and whether it is going to duplicate the existing documents,” Natalya Kochanova said.
According to her, when improving national legislation it is necessary to make it a rule to assess each step for compliance with the integration goals, keeping in mind that these goals will be achieved only in conditions of a single legal space. “It is reasonable to introduce permanent mechanisms of expertise and monitoring of the Union State legislation aimed at maintaining its consistency and uniformity. At present it is relevant to coordinate the joint work of the Union State bodies and state bodies of the participating countries on the harmonization of national legislation. It is important to remember that the rejection of national legal traditions is not the purpose of rapprochement,” the speaker said. “I believe that further development of interregional cooperation between Belarus and Russia requires strengthening its organizational and legal component,” she added.
“A new benchmark which can give an impetus to the development of the regions of the two countries can become a corresponding strategy of the Union State, which will outline a clear framework and advantages of our interaction at the regional level. In general, is there anything that prevents two sovereign and independent states from defining their goals of sustainable development? Can we stop reporting on our own plans to the entire world community and let anyone calculate the trajectory of our development?” Natalya Kochanova suggested.
