PRESS RELEASE*

The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the Government Presidium meeting on July 21, 2011:

1. The progress in drafting government programmes of the Russian Federation.

Background material for this agenda item has been submitted by the Ministry of Economic Development together with the Finance Ministry.

The government decided that it would be expedient to endorse government programmes with a high level of readiness in 2011 and to ensure endorsement of the remaining programmes in 2012.

In so doing, the shaping of the federal budget entirely on the basis of the targeted programme principle should start from the federal budget for 2013 and the planning period of 2014-2015.

The Ministry of Economic Development reported that a total of 40 government programmes were being drafted.

The following programmes, according to the Ministry of Economic Development, could be recommended for endorsement by the Government already this year:

1. Reproduction and Use of Mineral Resources (the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment);

2. Ensuring Public Order and Counteracting Crime (the Ministry of the Interior);

3. Development of the Transport System (the Ministry of Transport);

4. The Government Programme of Agriculture Development and Regulation of Markets of Agricultural Produce, Raw Materials and Food (the Ministry of Agriculture);

5. Development of Physical Fitness, Sports and Tourism and Increasing the Efficiency of Youth Policy (the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy);

6. Energy Efficiency and Development of Power Generation (the Ministry of Energy).

Overall, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Finance Ministry believe that draft government programmes, provided they are elaborated in a timely manner in compliance with the conclusions sent to the responsible officers, may be submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation for endorsement at the beginning of 2012.

The main provisions (concepts) of the government programmes can be taken as the basis for drafting them, provided they are elaborated in a timely manner and submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation for endorsement mainly in the first half of 2012.

In compliance with the directive of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on drafting and submitting documents in compliance with the 2011 schedule for drafting and discussing draft federal laws, documents and materials prepared while working on the draft federal budget and draft budgets of government extra-budgetary funds for 2012 and for the planning period of 2013-2014, executive federal bodies are to submit draft government programmes or their main provisions (concepts) with regard to financial provisions in compliance with the distribution of the federal budget’s allocations in 2012-2014 to the Ministry of Economic Development and the Finance Ministry by August 22, 2011.

In this regard, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Finance Ministry plan again to consider the submitted government programmes to check the conformity of their financial provisions to the federal budget for 2012-2014 and the elimination of drawbacks noted during their initial consideration.

2. Draft federal law On Amending Some Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation related to Education of Individuals Willing to Take Care of Children without Parental Care.

The draft federal law was submitted by the Ministry of Education and Science.

It seeks to introduce obligatory education for individuals willing to take care of a child deprived of parental care. In connection with this, amendments are suggested to Articles 127, 146 and 153 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation and Article 271 of the Civil Procedural Code of the Russian Federation, under which only individuals that have received the necessary education as envisioned can become adoptive parents, guardians, custodians and foster parents. Exception will be provided for three categories of citizens:

• for adoptive parents that are stepfathers (stepmothers) of the children being adopted and that already take care of these children and live together with them;
• for adoptive parents, guardians (custodians) or foster parents who are close relatives of the children lacking parental care;
• for individuals who have already been adoptive parents if adoption has not been cancelled and for individuals who have been guardians (custodians) if their functions have not been suspended.

The introduction of the special education is necessary due to the need to ensure the psychological, pedagogical and legal readiness of people to accept children deprived of parental care into their families, which is extremely relevant given the growing number of cases in recent years in which children taken into foster care are returned to orphanages from their foster families.

If all foster parents undergo quality training, it will help to ensure complete adjustment and protection of the rights of children in foster families.

3. Draft federal law On Amending Article 22 of the Federal Law On the Basic Guarantees of Children’s Rights in the Russian Federation.

The draft federal law was submitted by the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development.

Article 22 of the Federal Law On the Basic Guarantees of Children’s Rights in the Russian Federation stipulates an annual state report on children’s situation in the Russian Federation in order to provide all bodies of state authority with objective, systematised analytical information on the issue.

Given that issues related to children’s health, development, upbringing and education covered in the report are inextricable from issues of improving and developing family relations, and also from measures seeking to improve family well-being, the draft law proposes amending Article 22 of the Federal Law On the Basic Guarantees of Children’s Rights in the Russian Federation, providing for the Government annually to submit a state report to the chambers of the Federal Assembly on children’s situation and the situation of families with children in the Russian Federation.

The draft law stipulates that the structure and system of the report’s parameters, the procedure involved in its preparation and distribution, public discussion and release of information on the results of discussions will be determined by the Government.

The implementation of the draft law will not require additional allocations from the federal budget.

4. Draft federal law On Amending the Federal Law On State Protection and Other Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation.

The draft law was submitted by the Federal Protective Service.

It seeks to provide legal backing to relations in the area of state protection, which were put in place during the reform of state management in the sphere of ensuring the security of the Russian Federation.

The draft law takes into account amendments to the federal legislation related to providing state protection to a President who no longer exercises his authority, establishing as the result of administrative reform the status and structure of executive federal bodies, which requires specifying the controlling and supervising functions of an executive federal body in the sphere of state protection, city-planning activities; the use of water facilities, carrying out military service and the status of the military; carrying out federal state civil services.

In addition, the draft law stipulates amending the list of basic terms and streamlining the terminology of the Federal Law On State Protection in conformity with federal legislation. New concepts and the adjustment of existing ones will allow to clearly define relations in the sphere of state protection, and also to specify the content and margins of the activities of bodies of state protection and other state bodies ensuring security within this sphere.

The draft law stipulates amendments to certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in order to bring them in line with amendments made to the Federal Law On State Protection.

5. Draft federal law On Amending the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation.

The draft federal law was submitted by the Ministry of Transport.

It aims to carry out the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Code, envisaging the use of administrative sanctions against individuals that have committed an offence on sea transport related to the violation of the rules of the registration of vessels, and also to vessels travelling without a navigation pilot in districts where piloting is obligatory, and to the failure to provide or the providing of incorrect information about the vessel that a navigation pilot requires.

The Code contains provisions regulating the state management and state supervision of merchant shipping and, consequently, instructions concerning the jurisdiction of executive federal bodies in the specified areas. In compliance with Article 84 of the Code, a seaport captain has the right to use administrative sanctions in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation for the violation of rules related to shipping safety and order in the port.

At the same time, some articles of the Code that stipulate the use of administrative sanctions on sea transport are not substantiated by corresponding provisions in the Administrative Offenses Code of the Russian Federation.

Notably, Article 51 of the Code stipulates that an individual evading obligatory registration of a vessel, registering it with one of the vessels’ registries violating the established procedure or violating the obligation to report changes in the information included in the vessels’ registries, is subject to administrative sanctions in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

In compliance with Article 90 of the Code, the captain of a vessel is not allowed to travel without a navigation pilot in areas where piloting is obligatory, except if the vessel belongs to the category of ships that are relieved of obligatory piloting or if the captain has been given the right to travel without a navigation pilot by the seaport captain in compliance with the established procedure. The captain of a vessel that has violated this provision is subject to administrative sanctions in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.

In compliance with Article 95 of the Code, the captain of a vessel provides the navigation pilot with the exact information about the vessel’s sea gauge, length, breadth and tonnage, which is written on a pilot’s ticket signed by the captain. A navigation pilot has the right to demand that the captain should provide other information about the vessel (its maneuvering characteristics, and other information) that he requires for piloting the vessel. Clause 2 of this article stipulates that the captain of a vessel is subject to administrative sanctions in compliance with the legislation of the Russian Federation for failure to provide information, or for providing incorrect information about the vessel.

The absence of corresponding definitions of offenses in the Administrative Offenses Code of Russia makes it impossible to enforce Articles 51, 90 and 95 of the Code.

In this regard, the draft law stipulates amendments to the Administrative Offences Code that would introduce responsibility stipulated by Articles 51, 90 and 95 of the Code.

6. Introducing amendments to some legislative acts of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The draft resolution was submitted by the Ministry of Transport.

In compliance with Clause 5.3.10 of the Statute on the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport, the Agency organises the classification and examination of sport sailboats. Clause 4 of the Statute stipulates that the Agency carries out its authorities directly or through subordinated organisations.

In compliance with Clause 5 of the Rules of Classification and Examination of Sport Sailboats, their classification and examination is done by the federal state institutions, the Russian Sea Navigation Registry and the Russian River Registry, subordinated to the Agency.

In compliance with the Government’s resolution, the Russian Sea Navigation Registry and the Russian River Registry were put into subordination of the Russian Ministry of Transport. In this connection, the Agency does not have the opportunity to organise classification and examination of sport sailboats.

Therefore, the draft resolution stipulates excluding the functions to organise classification and examination of sport sailboats from the Statute on the Federal Agency for Sea and Inland Water Transport and including them in the Statute on the Ministry of Transport.

7. Draft federal law On Ratification of the Agreement on the Procedure for Enforcing Special Protective, Anti-dumping and Compensation Measures During the Transitional Period.

The draft resolution was submitted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The Agreement on the Procedure for Enforcing Special Protective, Anti-dumping and Compensation Measures During the Transitional Period was signed in St Petersburg on November 19, 2010.

It defines the procedure for enforcing current national protective measures for the Agreement’s domestic market, the procedure for their accelerated reconsideration in order to apply them to the unified customs territory of the Customs Union, the procedure for making decisions on introducing protective measures on the domestic market resulting from investigations that are currently under way and from investigations that were completed before the signing of the Agreement.

It also defines the procedure for conducting new investigations and submitting corresponding applications, and the procedure for paying, crediting and distribution between the member states of the Customs Union special, anti-dumping and compensation duties applied as part of existing national protective measures for the domestic market and supra-national protective measures of the Customs Union’s market.

8. The procedure for selecting and coordinating the implementation of federal districts’ priority investment projects and amending some legislative acts of the Government of the Russian Federation.

The draft resolution was submitted by the Ministry of Regional Development.

It stipulates endorsement of the procedure for selecting and coordinating the implementation of federal districts’ investment projects.

The Rules of Selecting and Coordinating the Implementation of Federal Districts’ Priority Investment Projects that are endorsed by the draft resolution aim to define the goals and tasks of the investment projects and the requirements for them. These Rules also define the procedure for selecting federal districts’ priority investment projects, endorsing lists of federal districts’ investment projects and amending them as required, and also coordination of the implementation of these projects.

The draft resolution proposes introducing amendments to the government resolution, Issues of the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation, to the Statute on the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation and the Statute on the Government Commission on Investment Projects of National, Regional and Interregional Importance that would give the Ministry of Regional Development the powers to carry out government policy in selecting and coordinating the implementation of federal districts’ priority investment projects.

9. Introducing amendments to the Statute on the Federal Tariff Service.

The draft resolution was submitted by the Federal Tariff Service.

Given the tariff regulation system stipulated by the new version of the Federal Law On Power Generation, the law also gives the corresponding powers to the Federal Tariff Service, and the draft resolution proposes reflecting them in the Statute on the Federal Tariff Service.

The wholesale market will retain full government regulation of tariffs on electricity (power) supplied in non-price zones. In price zones, electricity tariffs will be set only for electricity (power) supplied for further sale on retail markets to households and consumers equated with them, as well as to certain territories of price zones to buyers determined by the Government.

On the retail market in territories not united into price zones of the wholesale market, tariff regulation will remain for electricity sold to all groups of consumers, while in price zones, only tariffs on electricity supplied to households and consumers equated with them are subject to regulation.

The Federal Law On Heat Supply also stipulates some new powers of the Federal Tariff Service, which needs to be reflected in the Statute on the Federal Tariff Service.

10. Signing the Protocol on Amending the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on the Use of Immigration Cards of the Unified Format dated October 5, 2004.

The draft resolution was submitted by the Federal Migration Service.

It seeks to introduce the amendment initiated by the Belarusian party to Article 3 of the Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Belarus on the Use of Immigration Cards of the Unified Format dated October 5, 2004, in part related to relieving foreign citizens and persons without citizenship who permanently or temporarily reside in the Republic of Belarus from filling out immigration cards when entering the territory of the Republic of Belarus and from presenting them when leaving the Republic of Belarus. However, if the specified individuals enter the territory of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Belarus they still must receive an immigration card from competent Belarusian authorities and fill it out before entering the Russian Federation.

11. Rendering state support to the national union of public organisations, the Russian Union of Martial Arts, in the form of paying for the right to host the World Martial Arts Games in St Petersburg in 2013.

The international sports organisation, SportAccord, has decided to hold the World Martial Arts Game in St Petersburg on October 18-27, 2013.

The Games will include competitions in aikido, boxing, fencing, judo, jujitsu, karate, kendo, kick boxing, Thai boxing, unarmed self-defence, savate, sumo, taekwondo, sport combat and wu-shu.

The Russian Union of Martial Arts and SportAccord have signed a corresponding agreement on holding the Games.

This agreement stipulates the payment of 4 million Swiss francs to the international sports organisation SportAccord for the right to host the Games, out of which 1 million Swiss francs is to be paid in 2011.

The draft resolution stipulates allocation by the Finance Ministry of 33.1023 million roubles in 2011 to the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy to pay for the right to host the Games from budget allocations in the 2011 federal budget in the subsection “Other national issues” of the section “National Issues” of the classification of budget spending, with the right to purchase foreign currency on the domestic foreign exchange.

12. Allocating budget funds to the government of the Republic of Dagestan from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for disaster prevention and relief effort and issuing state housing certificates to reimburse for damage inflicted during the counter-terrorist operation conducted on December 12, 2010 in the village of Buglen, the Buinaksky district, the Republic of Dagestan.

13. Providing an allowance from the federal budget to the budget of the Udmurtian Republic in 2011 to support measures ensuring the balance of Russian regions’ budgets.

Moscow,
July 20, 2011

 * Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information are based on the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the Government Presidium.