OREANDA-NEWS. July 22, 2010. The commission for the Customs Union and the single economic space has been set up in Belarus. It was approved by Council of Ministers’ Resolution No.1075.

The document approves the statute of the commission for the Customs Union and the single economic space. The commission is a coordinating body bringing together government agencies to consider a variety of issues, like customs and tariff regulation, application of special protective, anti-dumping, compensational and reciprocal measures, and non-tariff regulation. The commission will be responsible for reconciliation of technical regulations, application of food safety measures, establishment of trade regimes with the third countries, taxes, calculation and allocation of customs dues. The responsibilities of the commission also include military and technical cooperation, export control, coordination of economic and foreign exchange policies, power engineering, transport and communication. The commission will coordinate matters related to the movement of services, capital and labor.

This will be a permanent commission. The guidelines will be provided by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, Belarusian laws, presidential decrees, resolutions of the Council of Ministers, international agreements. The commission will be able to submit reports and proposals to the Belarusian government. The composition of the commission is approved by the Council of Ministers; it is presided by Deputy Prime Minister, member of the Customs Union Commission. At present Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov performs this function.

Resolution No. 1075 approves a list of agreements to form the legal framework of the single economic space. First Vice-Premier Vladimir Semashko will be responsible for drafting six agreements, including the agreements on the single rules of granting industrial subsidies, single principles regulating the intellectual property protection, management, operation and development of the common market of oil, oil products and gas of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. Belarus will also draft the agreements on the access to services of natural monopolies in gas transportation including the basis of price formation and tariff policy and on the agreed policy in oil transportation by main pipelines.

Deputy Prime Minister of Belarus Ivan Bambiza will supervise the development of two agreements: on single rules governing the provision of agriculture subsidies and single principles and rules governing technical regulations, application of sanitary, veterinary and phyto-sanitary measures.

Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Burya will oversee the preparation of the agreements on the single communications markets, on the access to the services of natural IT monopolies and also the agreement on the access to services of natural monopolies in railway transport, including tariff policy.

Andrei Kobyakov will be in charge of eight agreements, namely, the agreement on macro-economic policy, single principles and rules governing the activity of the entities of the natural monopolies, competition principles and rules, government procurement contracts. The list also includes the agreements on trade in services, investment activity, free movement of capital in the financial markets, on agreed principles of currency policy.

Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Potupchik will be responsible for the two agreements on cooperation in counteracting illegal labor migration from third countries and on legal status of migrant workers.

Resolution No.1075 approves the membership of a sub-commission for the Customs Union. It is headed by First Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Petrishenko. He is also deputy chairman of the commission for the Customs Union and single economic space. The sub-commission includes officials of the ministries of finance, transport, taxes and duties, healthcare, agriculture, State Military-Industrial Committee, other ministries, committees and the Belneftekhim concern.

The resolution also approves the membership of another sub-commission dealing with the issues regarding the formation of the single economic space. It is headed by Deputy Economy Minister Andrei Tur, who is also deputy chairman of the commission for the Customs Union and single economic space. The sub-commission comprises officials of the State Committee for Science and Technology, National Bank, Finance Ministry, Foreign Ministry, other ministries, committees and the Belneftekhim concern.