Valyushitsky: CU states make great headway in Eurasian integration
MINSK. December 27. KAZINFORM In 2013 Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan made a great progress in the Eurasian integration, Chairman of the Permanent Commission for Economic Policy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus Viktor Valyushitsky told BelTA as he commented on the meetings of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council and the Supreme State Council of the Union State in Moscow on 24-25 December.
At the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council meeting the Presidents approved the institutional part of the draft Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union. The next step will be the coordination of the functional, or sectoral, part of the draft document. The text of the document should be ready for signing before 1 May 2014. The Eurasian Economic Union is due to go operational on 1 January 2015.
According to the MP, concrete stages have been outlined for a near-term outlook, i.e. 1 May 2014 and 1 January 2015, add confidence in successful development of the Eurasian integration. Viktor Valyushitsky expressed hope that future results would receive further dynamic development.
In 2014 a great deal of work on the development of the Eurasian Economic Union will be done by profile ministries and national parliaments. "Today we need to harmonize a big layer of laws with Russia, Kazakhstan. We should focus our special attention on the issue," the MP said. The work in this direction is already underway. Viktor Valyushitsky cited as an example a draft law on competition development and measures against monopolistic activities. Passed by the House of Representatives, the draft law takes into account international agreements signed by Belarus, the model law on competition seeking rapprochement in legal regulation of economic relations in the field of competitive policy of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, BelTA reports.
As for the Union State prospects, Viktor Valyushitsky noted that Belarus and Russia had been and would remain key trade and economic partners for each other. Development of holding companies will receive even bigger development in the Belarusian-Russia relations. "These steps will make our companies more focused on uniting the production potential. We will be moving in this direction next year," the MP said. Among the most promising areas, in his words, is mechanical engineering, production of nitrogen fertilizers. "We are ready to increase mutual trade. We have every opportunity for it. Goods of the real production sector are in great demand on the markets of Russia and Kazakhstan," the parliamentarian said.