“Support from Russian citizens has always helped us, and I’m confident that the government’s future line-up will rely on the people. We must never forget about the needs of ordinary people. We must always remember how government-level decisions influence the lives of all ordinary Russian citizens.”
“Companies switching to new energy-saving equipment will be entitled to more incentives, and may even be exempted from property taxation for three years.”
“The burden on payrolls will increase next year. This will certainly be the most acute problem in the near future. As you know, we have decided to increase mandatory social insurance payments. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to achieve financial stability in the pension system while raising the older generation's living standards at the same time. However, we have put off a tax increase due to the economic crisis. This year premiums will remain frozen at 26%. We must find resources so we can increase the financial burden gradually over the course of next year.”
“Also, macroeconomic stability, low inflation, affordable credit, a reasonable budget deficit at certain stages and a good balance between debts and reserves all play a tremendous role in creating a friendly investment climate. I believe it may even possible to increase these reserves to some extent, considering the current rise in petroleum prices. To sum up, we should take a comprehensive view of the situation. Such an approach helps us to avoid diffusing funds too much or making promises we cannot fulfil. We have another objective: we should structure our efforts so as to fund priority projects and at the same time preserve a sustainable macroeconomic environment, thus guaranteeing the macroeconomic stability of the budget and the entire national economy.”
“We will also launch a fundamentally new federal targeted programme for the comprehensive modernisation of housing and public utilities, which will complement the efforts that the Housing Reform Promotion Fund started several years ago. Naturally, this programme will not just be about major housing repairs. Significant renovation of utilities networks is also necessary. Moreover, this renovation should not only be undertaken in emergencies and should involve modern technology, materials, energy-efficient equipment, private investment and concessions.”
“Turn to federal targeted programmes proper. They account for a sizeable portion of the national budget. In particular, 740 billion roubles have been earmarked this year to develop advanced technology, build up social and transport infrastructure, solve housing problems and enhance security. The federal targeted programmes for 2011 will certainly address these obvious priorities.”
“Forecasts for social and economic development and basic budget indices should be based on conservative and realistic estimates that take into account all possible risks, particularly unpredictable fluctuations in global markets for oil, metals and other basic Russian exports.”
“We need to prepare in advance for the entry into force of the law altering the status of public institutions, which envisages fundamentally new approaches for preparing and executing of budget expenditures. In particular, the usual estimates will be replaced by measures such as targets in education, healthcare and other public services. These targets will be used not only to determine how much funds are allocated but also to set requirements for the scope and quality of work. The purpose of these changes is to provide healthcare, education and the services of our entire public sector to citizens by providing an incentive for careful attention to people's needs and demands.”
“It should return to traditional financial planning. We had to temporarily abandon it last year in order to take extraordinary measures due to the global financial and economic crisis. We had to implement government anti-crisis programmes, which on the whole have met their targets. The situation has now been stabilised, and we can again afford to prepare a more routine budget. Therefore, we must produce a high-grade budget for 2011 that will meet long-term objectives and fully guarantee the fulfilment of social obligations.”
“We haven't had much political contact in recent years. This is the first visit of the Swedish prime minister to Russia in ten years. That being said, economic ties between our countries have deepened. In 2008 bilateral trade neared $9 billion. However, it has dropped by some 40% during the recession. Many large Swedish companies do business in Russia, including IKEA, Electrolux, Tetra Pak, Alfa Laval, Scania and Volvo. Swedish companies also have quite a big share in the telecommunications market.”