“The Unified Customs Authority of the Union State of Russia and Belarus will start operating in 2022, according to State Secretary of the Union State Dmitry Mezentsev in an interview with “”Izvestiya”” on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Mezentsev said that the customs authority of the Union State is already starting to work this year, and added that there is currently a convergence of approaches and a move towards a single tool for currency regulation. He emphasized the importance of this, especially as dollars and euros have essentially ceased to be reserve currencies for many partners, which he attributed to Western intervention and pressure. Mezentsev also noted that tax services are starting to use a single foundation for tracing goods, and that this is a unique and in-demand result that takes into account the experience of the Federal Tax Service of Russia. He emphasized that these are the first successful steps that thousands of collectives and millions of citizens of both countries feel in order to achieve prosperity, profitability, and expansion of supplies of Belarusian goods to Russia, as well as to account for the achievements of engineering, scientific, and research schools so that import substitution programs can be implemented in the most effective way in the coming months without stopping production lines.

The Secretary of State of the Union State noted that the convergence of the national legislation of Russia and Belarus relates to work in support of economic integration. He reminded that the approved 28 Union programs by Russia and Belarus are a comprehensive plan for this process.

The process of integrating the two states has been ongoing for more than 20 years – the Treaty on the Union State was signed in 1999. In September 2021, the presidents of Russia, Vladimir Putin, and Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, agreed on 28 Union programs. In the same month, the roadmaps were approved by the Council of Ministers of the Union State. The parties agreed to create unified markets for gas, oil and petroleum products, as well as electricity. It is expected that a gas agreement will be concluded by December 1, 2023.

The parties have agreed to move towards a common industrial policy and common access to government procurement and orders, harmonization of customs and tax legislation (including unified approaches to the collection of indirect taxes), abolition of roaming, and have also reached agreements on developing unified approaches to legislation in the labor and social spheres. In November of last year, the presidents approved union programs, an updated military doctrine and a migration concept.

Source: TASS.
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