Presidents of Russia and Belarus Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko approved 28 integration programs. The parties signed the decree during a meeting of the Supreme State Council of the Union State, which was held in video format. The programs include a common approach to taxes, loans, and the creation of unified markets for oil, gas and transportation services.
Thus, Russia and Belarus began to reset economic relations, Lukashenka said. According to the Belarusian leader, the countries also intend to strengthen the regional grouping of troops. In turn, Putin said that Moscow would help Minsk resist external pressure. The President stressed that the parties managed to achieve progress even in the controversial issues of oil and gas. However, in practice, not all programs will be implemented, says political scientist Valery Karbalevich:
“The signing of the documents is a definite step towards the convergence of economies. This raises a number of questions. These programs have not yet been published, and we do not know what is actually said there. While there is an impression that there is a lot of declarative, we are talking about agreement, unification of something. The projects themselves have been preparing for three years, how long will it take to implement them? Much more, I think.
There will be disputes in each area: it is quite difficult to bring the economic policy of the two states with their own established economies to uniformity.
What does it mean to unify tax laws or taxes? In Belarus and in Russia, different structures of the economy and the receipt of taxes into the budget. The Belarusian side would like to buy gas and oil at domestic Russian prices, but Moscow does not want this, since the cost for the republic is already much lower than for Europe.
In Belarus, there is an economic model of manual control that resists any external constraints. The country has not yet joined the World Trade Organization, because some of its rules restrain in some way the activities of national governments. The authorities do not want this. I can hardly imagine that they will be guided by Russia in solving the problems of budget deficit and inflation. “
But the political integration of Russia and Belarus is hardly possible in the near future, believes Alexander Gushchin, Deputy Head of the Department of Post-Soviet Abroad Countries at the Russian State Humanitarian University. In his opinion, the very fact of the creation of the Union State can change the attitude of Europe towards Russia:
“For the last 20 years, the Union State has stagnated in its development. Lukashenka also had certain red lines, beyond which he was not ready to go, especially in political integration. I am practically sure that with any other person in office, most likely, the integration process can be more degrading, and then the prospects will be completely dim.
Within the framework of these programs, it is necessary to create joint regulators, bodies that would be engaged in the direct implementation of agreements. This is a definite application from Russia for its integration project, in addition to the Eurasian Union, which has geopolitical significance, including in the context of relations with the West. So far, we are not talking about any serious political superstructure, the creation of unified bodies. This is an attempt to pragmatize economic issues. Further will go social, humanitarian, and in the future, perhaps, political. ”
After the online meeting of the State Council, the leaders talked on the phone for another hour and a half. Lukashenko, for example, proposed reforming the media and creating a single media holding of the Union State. Putin, in turn, said that Russia is ready to include a Belarusian cosmonaut in the ISS crew. Sources of “RIA Novosti” report that he will go to the international station no earlier than 2024.
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