The Union State of Russia and Belarus - what is it?

December 8, 1999 - the day of the union state of Russia and Belarus. Then the leaders of the two countries, Lukashenka and Yeltsin, signed a new treaty, which undoubtedly dispersed the integration processes.

Day of the Union State of Russia and Belarus also - April 2, 1996. Then in the St George's Hall of the Kremlin there was a historical event. The leaders of the two countries signed the very first treaty on the union state of Russia and Belarus.

It's been 20 years since those events. The union still officially exists. However, despite twenty years of cooperation, the two countries have many unresolved problems and mutual claims. Let's try to figure out what the union state of Russia and Belarus is. Are these attempts to revive the USSR or an analogue of the EU in the CIS? And also we will talk about the main problems of integration.

New USSR or not

In one of his speeches, President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin expressed an opinion on the disintegration of the Union. It was a big mistake, but trying to revive it will be a great folly. Be that as it may, almost all the countries that were part of the USSR had interdependence. Despite national contradictions, the former republics could not economically survive without each other. This is due to the fact that the leadership for a long time cemented the country through economic zoning. Those. Each republic developed its own unique spheres, which were not in other regions.

For example, Belarus - potatoes, dairy production, heavy engineering.

Ukraine is the "granary of the Union". Cereals, corn, engines for the military-industrial complex.

Russia - nuclear energy, heavy industry, forest, gas.

The Baltics - technological production, etc.

We will not list all the republics. Let's just say that the collapse of the USSR "ruined" almost all the industries in them, because All of them worked as a single whole. Enterprises were not prepared for various barriers to independence. The result - a separate economic zoning in the former republics ceased to exist.

Of course, there have been attempts to integrate with the help of CIS instruments, but the Commonwealth is more of an "advisory" organization, which does not solve anything. Of course, there are customs privileges between the member countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, but still it is not a single state with unified borders, currency, laws.

Russia and Belarus decided not to break the economic relations between themselves. Cooperation within the framework of the CIS was inadequate. Therefore, the two countries have created a union state of Russia and Belarus.

Who is the head in this house

The question of the political system was settled for a long time. It was assumed that the union state of Russia and Belarus would be ruled by one leader, that is, by analogy with the presidential republic. At least, so suggested the Russian government. President Lukashenko, of course, agreed to such a step, but on condition that he is such a leader. Russia did not expect such a turn, and reminded the Belarusian president of the correlation between the population and the volumes of GDP between the two countries. The principle of one-man management was abolished.

The political structure of the Confederation

In accordance with the Treaty establishing the Union, there are:

• The Supreme State Council (Chairman of Lukashenka).
• Council of Ministers (Chairman Medvedev).
• Standing Committee of the Union State of Russia and Belarus (Chairman Grigory Rapota).
• The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia.

Union state of Russia and Belarus "merged" into the Customs Union or not

Many citizens think that with the creation first of the EAEC, and then the Customs Union, the Confederation of the two countries ceased to exist. But actually it is not.

Yes, many processes between the two countries do exist within the framework of the CU, however a number of interactions occur exclusively under the Treaty of Confederation:

• The development of pilot projects and innovations, which are then implemented in the CU.
• Cooperation under the Treaty of the agencies responsible for security - counterintelligence, migration services, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, etc.
• Interaction of interregional cooperation. For example, the forums of the regions of Belarus and Russia.
• Within the confederation, the time of free stay of citizens in the territories of both states has been increased to 90 days.
• Active interaction occurs in the educational sphere. Almost 10 thousand Belarusians study in Russia and 2 thousand Russians - in the Republic of Belarus.

All these processes would be impossible within the framework of the Customs Union.

The vehicle is created for free movement of goods inside the association. This is the so-called duty-free zone of trade. All goods produced in the countries belonging to the CU can be freely sold within the organization. No additional certificates are provided, no fees are charged.

The union state of Russia and Belarus was created for deeper integration processes. It is not limited to economic cooperation. This is the future project of a single Confederation, i. Future state. The project of stage-by-stage integration presupposes the flag of the union state of Russia and Belarus, the coat of arms, the hymn, currency, and single documents.

The USSR is returning or not

Given the design of the flag (red flag with two yellow asterisks) and the coat of arms (despite the presence of the double-headed eagle more like a "Soviet planet" with spikelets), it can be assumed that the two countries want to revive the USSR. At least, the attributes projects speak about it.

Functions of the Supreme State Council of the Union State

The Supreme Council of the State Council performs the following functions:

• Approves the international treaties of the SG, adopted by the Parliament of the SG.
• Determines the location of organs SG.
• Approves the symbols of the SG, the budget of the SG, adopted by the Parliament of the SG.
• He listens to the annual report of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the SG on the implementation of decisions taken.
• Publishes decrees within the limits of his powers, etc.

The State Council of the SG includes the heads of the participating countries, or authorized to speak on their behalf. If at least one of them votes "against" for any decision, then it will not be accepted. That is, in fact the Council fulfills the functions of the president, only consists of a "college of heads of state". Since 2000 the chairman is AG Lukashenko. Its functions are:

• He conducts international negotiations on behalf of the Supreme State Council of the SG from the SG.
• Handles annual messages to the Parliament of the SG.
• Organizes the work of the Supreme State Council of the SG.
• Gives instructions within the limits of his competence to the Council of Ministers of the SG.
• On the instructions of the Supreme State Council, the SG fulfills its functions.

Council of Ministers of the Union State

Council of Ministers (Sov.Min.) SG is the executive body of the Confederation. It includes the heads of the governments of the participating countries, the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, the heads of the sectoral governing bodies of the SG, the State Secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus. Only the head of the executive authority of the participating country is appointed as the chairman of the Council of Ministers. Functions of Sov.Mina SG:

• Ensures control over the implementation of the provisions of the SG Treaty.
• Develops the main directions of the general policy.
• Manages common property.
• Examines the reports of the Accounting Chamber.
• It ensures the creation and development of a single economic space, the conduct of a single tax, currency, price, trade policy.

Standing Committee

The Standing Committee is the main working body of the Confederation. Ministers and Heads of State can not break "on two fronts." Besides constantly collecting them from different states is a rather problematic situation. For these purposes, there is the Standing Committee of the SG. Its functions are:

• Implementation of the provisions of the Treaty on the creation of the SG.
• Development strategy development SG.
• Preparation of the budget SG.
• Coordination of the work of the sectoral bodies of the SG.

Parliament

The Parliament of the Confederation consists of an equal number of deputies of the legislative bodies of the participating countries. To date, they have 36 people each. This is not the legislative body of the Confederation. Parliament can not issue uniform laws for the two countries. Of the deputies only profile commissions have been formed, which within their competence interact with various committees and departments of the two countries. There are eight of them:

• On the Regulations;
• On economic policy;
• On foreign policy issues;
• On safety;
• On issues of ecology;
• On information policy;
• On the budget;
• On social policy and culture.

There should be a unified Judicial system, which will coordinate the legal acts of the two states. Perhaps, someday, unified laws will operate on the territory of two states, but so far it is too early to talk about this. For 20 years, little has been done.

Creation of the Union State of Belarus, Russia: Problems of Integration

It would seem that the SG exists for 20 years. During this time, it is possible not only to establish cooperation, but also to create a unitary state if desired. But there are a number of problems that stop many integration processes. These include:

• Political aspects;
• Economic aspects;
• Military aspects.

We will try to understand them.

Select and share

Political problems are associated with bureaucratic barriers to the creation of the SG. This is due to privatization processes in Russia. Almost all enterprises (and even strategic ones) are transferred from the public sector to private hands.

Belarus takes a tough stance on this issue. "Thieves' privatization is unacceptable, we will never follow the Russian model," the leader of the "fraternal" republic says.

Privatization, according to Lukashenka, is impossible in such cases:

• Low-profit production, but without which the economy can not exist. This is the coal industry, transport, mail, and so on.
• Knowledge-intensive and capital-intensive production, which pays off in 10-20 years.
• Defense industry.

For Russia, with its vast territories in the hands of the state, there must be monopolies that unite it. Fragmentation of industries and privatization in private hands can create the danger of conspiracies, divisions, etc.

In addition, there is no single currency, unified laws that would strengthen integration.

The stumbling block to integration are issues of price policy and taxation, as well as the development of the social sphere. A single union state of Russia and Belarus unifies unified laws, prices, internal policy.

Does the state need economy?

But Belarus is actively advocating deterrence of prices and taxes. This is due to a strong public sector, as well as serious control in the private sector. The government of the "sister republic" does not allow the oligarchs to ramp up prices in the country "from the ceiling". This creates dangerous precedents for Russian oligarchs and officials "feeding from kickbacks." They see a threat to their well-being in the integration process. Therefore, they try to slow down all the processes in different ways.

Opponents of the SG are also Western and many domestic liberal politicians. They see in these processes a return to the old socialist system. The role of the state in the Belarusian economy is excessive. And all integration processes will only strengthen it, including this in the Russian economy, which should not be allowed.