Rossiiskaya Gazeta: "On Government Deeds"
The best way to deal with the financial and economic crisis is to act in unison, for example in the framework of the Customs Union. But the fight against climate change appears to be even more of a challenge, judging from the fact that Russia has prepared a climate doctrine. These were some of the ideas discussed at the meeting of the Government Presidium on Thursday. Prime Minister Putin is not overly pleased with the Government's performance.
"Far too many decisions are never executed. This means that projects are not being prepared properly and work is unsystematic", said Vladimir Putin, criticising his subordinates. He suggested that State Duma deputies and Federation Council members, as well as experts and representatives of non-governmental organisations, should be involved in developing key government legislation at the preliminary stage.
"We already have the ‘zero reading' practice, and this should be expanded," Mr Putin said. "I expect that it will make the lawmaking process much more effective," he said, adding that the process of lawmaking should be open.
One example of openness, but on a worldwide scale, was the fight against global warming. Yesterday, however, Vladimir Putin claimed the Kyoto Protocol as a victory for Russia. "Without Russia's participation, the Kyoto Protocol would not have come into effect," the Prime Minister noted. He did not dwell on the importance of the climate doctrine, as it was obvious. He finished his brief argument by recalling "the human right to a favourable environment enshrined in the Russian Constitution".
As for the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, the Prime Minister renewed his call for other Eurasian Economic Community members to join the newly created union. "We are absolutely open, and we welcome the expansion of the three-way partnership," the Prime Minister said, stressing that integration was the best antidote to the crisis. In the meantime, the three countries will have to develop a customs code, unified tariffs, and a system of non-tariff regulation.
During yesterday's meeting, Vladimir Putin seemed determined to cover а wide range of problems, from international disputes to Government issues. This year the Government will allocate 2,000 bonuses for state employees who are receiving higher education, substantially increasing the amount of money by 20% compared with last year, said Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov.
The best post-graduate students will receive 3,600 roubles, while undergraduates will receive 1,400 roubles, and the stipend for students at secondary technical schools and colleges will be 840 roubles a month. In addition, ten students who achieve outstanding results in literature, political science and journalism will be paid 1,500 roubles a month.
In addition to students, the Government has decided to help miners. "Miners have every right to count on extra pension guarantees", Mr Putin said. The pension increases will not be paid for by the Government, but through a system of employers contributions. Thus, the size of the labour pension, in addition to the extra pay, will ensure that miners receive up to 40% of their wages. The new arrangement will cover 32,000 people previously engaged in hazardous production. The Government, however, will dole out 2.2 billion roubles to the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development in order to finance the constructions and renovation of several local polyclinics and hospitals.
The Government will hold its ground on its programme to support Russian enterprises, especially the automobile industry, which is the flagship of Russian industry. Mr Putin signed a resolution to subsidise automobile producers with 360 billion roubles, and to give another one billion roubles to the subsidiaries of Unified Aircraft Company. "Up until now, aircraft factories have enjoyed only one form of budget support, subsidies of interest rates on loans," Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov said. Now the Government will subsidise rates for lease payments under agreements with Russian companies over the next five years. The new anti-crisis measure retroactively applies to lease agreements concluded since January 1, 2006.
In the meantime
The intergovernmental agreement with Japan on cooperation in the nuclear energy field was approved at the Government Presidium meeting on Thursday, a Government source told RG. The source said that the document was signed during Vladimir Putin's visit to Tokyo in mid-May.
National issue
