PRESS RELEASE*

The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the February 17, 2011 Government Presidium meeting: 

1.   Plan of activities for 2011-2015 to implement the Concept of the Demographic Policy of the Russian Federation through 2025

The draft executive order has been submitted by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development.

Pursuant to the decree of the President of the Russian Federation on Approving the Concept of the Demographic Policy of the Russian Federation through 2025 the Government has issued an executive order adopting a Plan of Activities for 2008-2010 to implement the Concept of Demographic Policy of the Russian Federation through 2025. The said plan (stage I of the Concept’s implementation) has been fulfilled.

Pursuant to the directives of the President of the Russian Federation the Government has been instructed to prepare the plan of activities for 2011-2015 to implement the Concept of the Demographic Policy of the Russian Federation to 2025 (stage II of the Concept’s implementation).  The draft plan was discussed on April 23, 2010 at a meeting of the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the Implementation of Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy and was reworked with due regard for the provisions of the Address of the President of Russia to the Federal Assembly on November 30, 2010 (including measures to boost the birthrate, improve the health of teenagers, develop preschool education, create conditions and encourage a healthy lifestyle and strengthen the institution of family) as well as the list of presidential instructions based on the results of the meeting of the Presidential Commission on the Implementation of Priority National Projects and Demographic Policy on December 27, 2010 (including measures to increase the incomes of families with children, providing generally accessible and free preschool education, prevention of social orphanage and placing of orphans with families).

By 2015 public health is to be improved substantially and conditions are to be created for comfortable life of the families bringing up children.

The parameters of funding the implementation of the planned activities correspond to the amounts of disbursements stipulated for the federal executive bodies under the federal budget for 2011 and the planning period of 2012 and 2013 and stand at 876.1 billion roubles. The parameters of funding the said activities in 2014 and 2015 are of a forecast character.

The total amount to be allocated to fulfill the planned activities for 2011-2015 to improve the demographic situation, taking into account the funding through the mandatory medical insurance system and the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, is 1.617 trillion roubles.

2. Progress in implementing the Water Management Strategy of the Russian Federation for the Period until 2020

The materials on the issue have been submitted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

During the report period the following measures have been taken with the aim of implementing the Water Management Strategy:

• work has been conducted to improve legal regulation: six draft federal laws and four draft government resolutions aimed at rational use of water resources and reducing the discharge of pollutants, including the creation of economic mechanisms stimulating the above, have been prepared and are at various stages of discussion and approval;
• to improve supply of proper quality and the necessary amount of water to households and the economy the federal targeted programme Clean Water has been approved aimed mainly at improving the supply of drinking water to households. The Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development, jointly with the constituent entities of the Russian Federation, are working to establish, develop and maintain the regime of sanitary protection of bodies of water that are sources of drinking and household water supply;
• to improve the ecological condition of bodies of water the national legislation is being improved with a view to adopting new principles of environmental standards and the introducing best practices, improving the usage mode of water protection zones’  and coastal protective strips’ territories. Measures have been carried out for ecological rehabilitation of 31 bodies of water, the boundaries of water protection zones and coastal protective strips stretching over some 4,298 km. In 2010, 1,681.32 million roubles were allocated for cleaning, deepening and straightening of rivers longer than 480 km;
• the development has continued of the system of state monitoring of bodies of water. Rosvodresursy agency has approved a programme of monitoring bodies of water in the area of the construction of Olympic facilities on the territory of the city of Sochi;
• to improve state management and coordination of the agents in the water management complex draft standards of allowable impact on bodies of water are being developed (29 drafts have been developed) as well as schemes of comprehensive use and protection of bodies of water (14 drafts have been completed and another 20 drafts are in the works), draft standards have been developed of allowable impact for the rivers of the Black Sea basin and for Lake Baikal. Twenty Basin Councils have been created and are working in the basin districts envisaged by the Water Management Code of the Russian Federation, and 11 interagency working groups have been created to regulate the regimes of the main cascades of hydroelectric power station water reservoirs;
• a range of measures are being taken to improve the protection of people and territories from floods and other negative impact of water which envisages among other things enhanced accuracy of the forecasts of flooding, pre-flooding inspection of hydro-engineering structures (more than 160 hydro-engineering structures have been overhauled). The Government has submitted to the State Duma a draft law regulating economic activities on flood-prone territories;
• the materials submitted for the Government Presidium meeting of by the Ministry of Natural Resources include the draft concept of the federal targeted programme the Development of the Water Management Complex in the Russian Federation in 2012-2020 which has been agreed with the federal executive bodies concerned and is being considered by the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Finance;
• in 2010 as part of the development of international cooperation in the use and protection of bodies of water agreements have been signed between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan on joint use of the water resources of the trans-border river Samur, between the governments of Russia and Kazakhstan on joint use and protection of trans-border bodies of water, a Russian-Kazakhstan intergovernmental commission has been formed and has started its work on the preservation of the environment in the basin of the Ural River, planned measures have been taken to implement seven agreements on joint use and protection of trans-border waters to which the Russian Federation is a party with Ukraine, the People’s Republic of China, Belarus, Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan and Mongolia;
• work is underway to provide scientific support of the activities under the Water Management Strategy and organise work to train and upgrade the qualifications of the relevant personnel. The Russian Academy of Sciences has formed a panel of experts which determines the priorities of science development in the water management sphere, qualification requirements to water management workers have been developed and educational standards have been updated.

3. Draft federal law On Introducing Amendments to the Federal Law on Energy Saving and Enhancing Energy Efficiency and on Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation

The draft federal law has been submitted by the Ministry of Economic Development.

The draft federal law postpones the deadline for mandatory installation of gas meters from January 1, 2012 to January 1, 2015 for the owners of standalone houses and flats in blocks of flats as well as owners of country houses and garden sheds built as of the effective date of the federal law On Energy Saving and Enhancing Energy Efficiency and on Introducing Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation.

The measure has been prompted by the high cost of natural gas consumption meters compared with the meters for other energy resources and the cost of cooking gas. At the same time the draft allows the owners of homes and flats to independently apply to have gas meters installed in their homes to the organization that supplies natural gas or provides natural gas transfer services. Such an organization has no right to turn down the application for the installation and servicing of the corresponding meter.

4. Draft federal law On Time Measurement

The draft federal law has been submitted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

At present time measurement on the territory of the Russian Federation is regulated by the resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation On the Procedure of Time Measurement on the Territory of the Russian Federation, the acts of the Council of the Republic of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR and some other acts of the Government of the Russian Federation adopted before the Constitution of the Russian Federation came into force on December 12, 1993.

Under subsection “p” of Article 71 and part 1 of Article 76 of the Constitution the time measurement issues are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation and are regulated by federal legislation. However, the issues of time measurement have not been regulated at the legislative level. Meanwhile the existing legal framework is in need of revision, including the part that names the constituent entities of the country.

The proposed draft law is aimed at providing a legislative framework for time measurement in Russia.

The main aim of the draft law is to meet the need of citizens, society and the state for accurate information on time and the calendar date.

The draft law determines the procedure of measuring the calendar date and the time of a calendar day, the procedure of disseminating information on exact time and calendar date and introduces the concept of a time zone.

Under the draft law the Government has been instructed to determine the constituent entities of Russia that belong to each time zone, establish the procedure of measuring time in the time zones and the specificities of providing accurate information on time in the period of mobilization, martial law or in war time.

Under the draft law the state standard units of time and the means of transmitting information on the exact Moscow time that ensure the functioning of the State Time, Frequency and Earth Rotation Parameters Service are the property of the Russian Federation, are withdrawn from commerce and not subject to sale or change of owner.

Financial support of the activities of the State Time, Frequency and Earth Rotation Parameters Service in disseminating information on exact time and date will be within the budget allocations for Rosstandart earmarked for work to ensure uniformity of measurements.  

5. Draft federal law On Medical Assistance to the Citizens of the Russian Federation who Work in Military Units of the Russian Federation Stationed in Some Foreign States, Members of their Families and the Families of Servicemen in these Military Units

The draft federal law has been submitted by the Defence Ministry.

Under earlier decisions mandatory medical, pension and social insurance

of workers at military units stationed on the territories of CIS states is ensured. Thereby the said category of workers is entitled to free medical assistance on the territory of the Russian Federation like all the other Russian citizens. But these workers are not entitled to free medical assistance in the host state where the military unit is stationed.

The draft law, prepared pursuant to the instruction, envisages that the workers of military units stationed in the CIS states, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, members of their families and the families of volunteer servicemen are entitled to free assistance at military medical institutions of these military units and, should assistance be impossible to render at these institutions, to medical assistance at the medical institutions of the host state. The terms and procedure of compensation of the cost of this assistance is to be determined by the Government of the Russian Federation under the draft law.

6. Draft federal law On Ratification of the Agreement on the Rules of Determining the Country of Origin of Goods within the Commonwealth of Independent States

The draft federal law has been developed and submitted by the Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Agreement on the rules of determining the country of origin of goods within the CIS was signed in the city of Yalta on November 20, 2009. The aim of the agreement is to have uniform rules for determining the country of origin of goods at the customs territories of the CIS member states.

An inalienable part of the Agreement are the Rules of Determining the Country of Origin of Goods that will be applied to the goods originating from the states parties to the agreement and are traded between these states.

The draft law is subject to ratification pursuant to subsection “a”, section 1, Article 15 of the Federal Law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation.

Implementation of the Agreement will not require the introduction of any amendments to federal laws.

7. Declaring null and void subsection 5.2.25⁷ of the Statute on the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation

The draft resolution has been prepared and submitted by the Ministry of Agriculture.

The draft resolution is aimed at eliminating overlap between the scopes of authority of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Development in the sphere of legal regulation of the issues of organization and holding of auctions of plots of land which are part of the body of agricultural land or of the right to sign a contract of lease of such plots of land.

Thus, under section 4, Article 38 of the Land Code of the Russian Federation the procedure of organizing and holding auctions to sell plots of land which are part of government or municipal property or the right to sign contracts to rent such plots of land is determined by the federal executive body authorized by the Government of the Russian Federation.

Such a body is the Ministry of Economic Development, according to subsection 5.2.28.9 of the Statute on the said ministry.

At the same time under 5.2.25⁷ of the Statute on the Ministry of Agriculture the Ministry of Agriculture is authorized to regulate the procedure of organizing auctions of plots of land which are part of the body of agricultural land or of the right to sign agreements on the rent of such plots of land.

To eliminate overlap in the scopes of authority subsection 5.2.25⁷ is to be deleted from the Statute on the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.

8. Introducing an amendment to the Statute on the Federal Service for Supervision of Transport

The draft resolution has been submitted by the Ministry of Transport.  

The draft introduces an addition to the Statute on the Federal Service for Supervision  of Transport whereby the Service is declared to be the authorized federal executive body that issues special permits for the use of roads by transport vehicles carrying hazardous cargoes.

The proposed measures enforce the provision of the federal law On Automobile Roads and Road Activities in the Russian Federation and on introducing amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation with respect to the designation of the federal executive body authorized to issue such special permits.

9. Allocating in 2011 to the FMBS from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation money for the treatment of Irina Skvortsova abroad

The draft executive order has been submitted by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development.

For the purpose of payment for the final stages of the treatment and rehabilitation of the Russian bobsleigh athlete Irina Skvortsova, who was badly injured as a result of an accident on the track in Koenigsee (Germany) on November 23, 2009, and in accordance with the Statute on the FMBA (Federal Medical-Biological Agency) of Russia it is necessary to allocate additional money to the FMBAout of the Government Reserve Fund for a one-off bonus of up to 7.4 million roubles.

10. Allocating to the Republic of Tyva’s Government budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergency Situations and the Aftermath of Natural Disasters for the liquidation of the consequences of the spring flooding in April 2010

11. Allocating to the Stavropol Territory’s Government budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergency Situations and the Aftermath of Natural Disasters and issuing state housing certificates as part of liquidating the consequences of torrential rains in the Stavropol Territory on June 22, 2010

12. Allocating to the Stavropol Territory budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergency Situations and the Aftermath of Natural Disasters for liquidating the consequences of heavy rains in the Stavropol Territory on July 7, 2010

13. Allocating to the Leningrad Region’s Government budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergency Situations and the Aftermath of Natural Disasters for liquidating the consequences of squall-force winds in July 2010

14. Allocating to the Administration of the Altai Territory budgetary provisions from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for the Prevention and Liquidation of Emergency Situations and the Aftermath of Natural Disasters for  liquidating the consequences of the flooding in April-July 2010

15. Issuing to the Government of the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic state housing certificates for the citizens who lost their homes as a result of flooding due to torrential rains on the territory of the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic on July 3, 2009

Moscow, February 16, 2011

Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information contain the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the Government Presidium meeting