Union of Russia and Belarus Totally Explained

Everything about The Union Of Russia And Belarus totally explained

The Union of Russia and Belarus (Soyuz Rossii i Byelorussii [SRB]), also known as the United State of Russia and Belarus (Союзное государство России и Белоруссии [СГРБ] Soyuznoye gosudarstvo Rossii i Belorussii [SGRB]), is a supranational entity consisting of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus.

Creation

Originally, the "Community of Russia and Belarus" was formed on April 2 1996. The basis of the union was strengthened on April 2 1997, at which time its name was changed to the Union of Russia and Belarus. On December 25 1998, with the signature of several agreements intending to provide greater political, economic, and social integration, the union was strengthened further. In reality, however, the Union may be considered as a confederation.
The creation of the Union was initiated by former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in order to harmonize the political and economic differences between the two nations. In 1994, a similar proposal by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev was put forward with the intention of founding a "Eurasian Union." However, this was never adopted. The Treaty of Creation for the United State of Russia and Belarus was signed on December 8 1999. The intention was to eventually achieve a federation like the Soviet Union; with a common president, parliament, flag, coat of arms, anthem, constitution, army, citizenship, currency, etc.

Institutions and legal framework

The Treaty on the Formation of a Union State has established the following institutions:

A Supreme State Council, made up of the Presidents, Prime Ministers and the heads of both chambers of the Parliaments of both countries.
A Council of Ministers
A Permanent Committee
A bicameral Union Parliament, comprising an elected House of Representatives, which contains 75 deputies from Russia and 28 from Belarus, and a House of the Union with an equal number of deputies from each nation, appointed by the executive branch.
A Supreme Court of Justice
An Accounting Chamber, controlling the implementation of the budget.

Pavel Borodin is the current State Secretary of the Union. He was first appointed by the Supreme State Council on January 26 2000, for a four-year term. In 2004 his term was renewed for another four years.

Developments

Both member states seemed to have lost their initial enthusiasm for the union, with first Russia, and then Belarus, restoring customs controls along their common border in 2001, effectively ending the customs union. Plans had also been set in motion to implement a common currency across the union, but these have been postponed several times. Belarus and Russia had been collecting the Value added tax (VAT) in the country of origin, but from January 1, 2005, VAT is collected in the country of destination, as in most other independent countries of the world. This change gave rise to a considerable degree of confusion and has disrupted many trade operations between Belarus and Russia.
   On February 10, 2005, private entrepreneurs in Belarus staged a one-day warning strike, protesting the new VAT scheme between the two countries and Lukashenko's economic policies. On December 15, 2006, talks were heating up over the unionization of the two states. In January 2007, talks appeared to be stalled, as president Lukashenko stated: "The Russian leadership is demanding that we join the Russian Federation - that's what is in the heads of the Russian leadership. I don't want to bury the sovereignty and independence of [Belarus]." He added: "From all the consultations and discussions, I've understood that we've different approaches and understandings of the building of a union state", and opposed "the possibility of the [Belarus'] incorporation into Russia".
   However on October 19, 2007, Russian Prime Minister, Viktor Zubkov, announced that the budget of the union "will grow by no less than ten percent next year, and that growth will provide for worthy funding of our common projects." This has led to speculation that the Russian government have renewed their interest in the idea.
   Belarus and Russia have been working towards a closer relationship with each other, resulting in the proposed Union of Russia and Belarus. While Belarus and Russia will be able to keep their own symbols, a song called "Sovereign Union of Nations" (Derzhavny soyuz narodov, Dzyarzhauny sayuz narodau) has been proposed as the Union's unofficial anthem. The song, which was modified from the National Anthem of the Soviet Union, refers to a wider union of the two nations.

Common currency

Initially, Lukashenko promised to introduce a common currency on January 1 2004. The currency wasn't introduced, and the plan pushed back by one year. On January 1, 2005, the "union state" again failed to introduce a common currency, and it was again postponed by one year, which, in 2006, happened again. During a press-conference in Minsk on February 2 2006, Pyotr Prokopovich, chief of the National Bank of Belarus, announced that a "common currency might be introduced in 2007." This, however, failed to occur in 2007. Starting in 2008, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus announced that the ruble will be tied to the United States dollar instead of the Russian ruble.

Contemplated expansion

has expressed interest in forming a separate customs union with Russia and Belarus by 2010. There is talk of Kazakhstan fully joining the Union of Russia and Belarus after some time

, as of June 2007, opposition in Kyrgyzstan, which has been locked in political turmoil, has initiated a nationwide referendum to join the union of Russia and Belarus.

, In 2001, president of Moldova Vladimir Voronin announced right after his election that he's plans for Moldova to join the Union of Russia and Belarus. The talks were already going on when things suddenly went quiet. Moldova expressed its wish to join the Union of Russia and Belarus, and at the same time join the European Union. The current situation is unknown.

has on many occasions expressed its wish to join the Union. In 1999, the parliament of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia voted for the country to join the Union. In 2007, Tomislav Nikolić (deputy leader of the Serbian Radical Party) during his speech said he wished for Serbia to strengthen ties with the union and eventually join the Union.Further Information

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