63rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia took place in Moscow

Today, on December 19, Vyacheslav Volodin, Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia and Chairman of the State Duma, and Vladimir Andreichenko, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, held the 63rd session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia.

The session was attended by 59 deputies from the two countries. The deputies considered the draft budget of the Union State and the work plans for next year.

During the “government hour” the relevant ministers of Russia and Belarus reported on the progress in implementing the decree On the Guidelines for Implementing the Provisions of the Treaty on the Creation of a Union State in 2021–2023. Issues related to the implementation of the 28 integration programmes of the Union State were also discussed.

Vyacheslav Volodin stressed the need to use the Union State’s budget as efficiently as possible.

“We should definitely have suggestions in both programmes and solutions that our citizens are waiting for. We have something in common that we must preserve, strengthen and cherish: our historical memory. There are issues that need to be dealt with in this regard,” stressed the Chairman of the State Duma.

The 2023 draft Union State budget is set at 5.966 billion Russian roubles in revenues. Budget revenues are derived from annual contributions from the budgets of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation.

The Union State budget for 2023 will finance four programmes and 33 activities.

The deputies also approved the 2023 work schedule of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, as well as the plan of international activities for the coming year.

The meeting was attended by the heads of the parliaments of Abkhazia and South Ossetia and representatives of international organizations, the CSTO PA and the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy.

The deputation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus arrived in Moscow the day before. Before the meeting, Vyacheslav Volodin, as well as Vladimir Andreichenko, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, and members of the parliaments of Belarus and Russia, laid a wreath and flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin Wall.

As you may recall, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia is currently an observer at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Collective Security Treaty Organization. The CSTO Parliamentary Assembly provided methodological assistance to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia in organizing the drafting of model legislation.

The 64th session of the Parliamentary Assembly will be held in Belarus next year. According to Vladimir Andreichenko, first deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Assembly and Chairman of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the exact venue will be determined later.