The following issues are scheduled for discussion at the July 23, 2009 meeting of the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation
1. Reducing the list of products subject to mandatory certification and expanding the extent of declaration of compliance.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has submitted background materials for the meeting of the Government of the Russian Federation on Reducing the List of Goods and Services Subject to Mandatory Certification and Expanding the Extent of Declaration of Compliance.
Government approval of a consolidated list of products subject to mandatory certification and a consolidated list of products subject to a declaration of compliance (hereinafter the "lists") is described under Section 3, Article 46 of the Federal Law On Technical Regulation for the transitional period pending said regulations' coming into effect.
The prepared lists contain 2,389 items that require mandatory confirmation of compliance, of which 1,649 items are subject to mandatory certification (69%), and 740 items are subject to declaration of compliance (31%).
It should be noted that progress on reducing the number of products subject to mandatory certification and increasing the list of products subject to declaration of compliance has been very slow. The Government instructions on the need to review the lists pursuant to Decree No.797 of the President of the Russian Federation On Urgent Measures to Liquidate Administrative Restrictions on Entrepreneurial Activities (adopted on May 15, 2008), which stipulates the need to replace (for the most part) mandatory certification with a system of declaration of compliance, has done little to change the lists (120 items have been transferred, which is 5% of the total number).
At the same time, the list of products subject to mandatory certification unreasonably includes, for example, cameras, cardboard and paper containers, iodinated table salt (standard table salt is subject to declaration of compliance), cigarettes (subject to declaration of compliance in accordance with the adopted technical rules), bottle corks, reference maps, school maps, atlases and other items.
However, the lists do not include products for which technical rules are being developed.
At the same time, the list includes products for which there are no plans to adopt technical rules.
On the whole, the lists reflect the current situation in the field of mandatory confirmation of compliance and need to be further adjusted and updated.
2. Introducing amendments to certain acts of the Russian Government.
The Draft Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on Introducing Amendments to Certain Acts of the Russian Government in light of the Government Decree No.858 (from November 19, 2008) On the Procedure of Development and Approval of Sets of Rules (hereinafter, "the Draft Decree") has been submitted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia (Andrei Dementyev).
In connection with the adoption of said Decree, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has prepared proposals to introduce amendments to certain acts of the Russian Government, including
3. Criteria and results of the distribution of subsidies to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for balancing the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation
The Finance Ministry has submitted to the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation materials on the criteria and results of the distribution of subsidies in support of measures intended to ensure balanced budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. These materials are based on the performance of the consolidated budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation from January to May of 2009.
The materials include a draft of an executive order of the Government that would approve the size of the subsidies to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. These subsidies are intended to support measures ensuring balanced regional budgets and would be calculated using uniform criteria for the distribution of the resources referred to above. The executive order has been drafted pursuant to Part 2, Article 13 of the Federal Law No.204-FZ of November 24, 2008 On the Federal Budget for 2009 and for the Planning Period of 2010 and 2011.
The proposals for the distribution of subsidies to the budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation have been prepared based on the following criteria:
1. Subsidies will be granted to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation whose consolidated budgets fall short of the necessary funds to meet said constituent entities' expenditure commitments.
2. Subsidies will not be granted to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation whose actual budget sufficiency level exceeds the average Russian indicator by more than 10%, and whose share of average, overdue credit indebtedness for socially significant expenditure commitments for the period in question (such as wages, social support for labour veterans, people who worked on the home front during the war, rehabilitated persons, and persons recognized as victims of political repressions, as well as for monthly child allowances and the cost of mandatory medical insurance for the non-working population) exceeds 2% of the average monthly spending on said items.
3. The budget revenues of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will include tax and non-tax revenue sources, as well as grants from the federal budget (with the exception of subventions and grants to support investments from the budget in facilities operated by the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and municipalities).
4. Tax and non-tax incomes of consolidated budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation have been assessed according to a uniform principle that is based on the 2008 level and takes into account changes in the inflow of revenue since the beginning of the year for the 15 constituent entities of the Russian Federation that have been most affected by the economic crisis, based on the percentage of revenues from the tax on the profit of organizations in the structure of the tax revenue.
5. Expenditure commitments will be assessed on the basis of the actual volume of spending in 2008 and using a uniform approach to determining expenditure commitments, with due account for optimizing their efficiency. Expenditure commitments will also take into account socially significant expenditures, with due account for their indexation.
6. Subsidies will be distributed to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in proportion to the extent that a constituent entity falls short of meeting the above expenditure commitments of said constituent entities, with due account of the actual level of budget sufficiency as a result of the performance of the consolidated budgets of said constituent entities from January to May of 2009, and their success in meeting the benchmarks set by the executive bodies of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation to balance their budgets. The size of the subsidy to a constituent entity of the Russian Federation may not exceed 12% of the constituent entity's total revenue.
7. The benchmark for the balanced state of the regional budgets reflects measures taken by the executive bodies of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation in the current financial and economic conditions to optimize consolidated budget spending in 2009, as compared with the actual spending in 2008, and to reduce overdue credit indebtedness of the consolidated budget of said constituent entity of the Russian Federation from January to May of 2009.
8. In determining the extent that spending of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation has been optimized, the resources of the constituent entities as of January 1, 2009 that had not been allocated for a specific purpose are taken into account, which makes it possible to take into account the actions of executive bodies to control spending and create reserve funds for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation intended to meet the expenditure commitments of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation in the event revenues cannot cover expenditure commitments.
Subsidies worth 58.2 billion roubles that meet the above criteria are to be distributed to 54 constituent entities of the Russian Federation based on the performance of the consolidated budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation from January to May 2009.
4. Granting subsidies to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation from the Federal Budget as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets, pursuant to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation.
The Finance Ministry of Russia has submitted to the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation proposals on allocating subsidies from the Federal Budget to the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Pursuant to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, these subsidies would support measures designed to balance regional budgets. The materials contain 23 drafts of Government executive orders that consider the amount of resources to be allocated to individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The executive orders have been drafted pursuant to part 2, Article 13 of Federal Law No.204-FZ (adopted on November 24, 2008) on the Federal Budget for 2009 and for the Planning Period of 2010 and 2011.
1. In accordance with the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation, a decision is to be made concerning federal funding for the reconstruction of the State Musical Theatre, the National Museum of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, and the Palace of Culture in the resort city of Nalchik, all of which have national significance.
The draft of this Government executive order proposes providing additional financial assistance worth 260 million roubles to the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic to complete the reconstruction of said cultural sites. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets. 144.5 million roubles will be allocated for relevant purposes from the budget of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
2. Pursuant to the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, the Russian Finance Ministry was to study the issue of providing additional financial assistance to the Republic of Adygea to finance a range of measures to ensure the fulfilment of federal social guarantees to the public sector and municipal workers in the Republic.
The low per capita income (the Republic ranks 71st in the Russian Federation by this measure) and lack of housing in the region for public sector workers have caused an exodus of highly qualified and dynamic specialists in the fields of education, healthcare and social services.
The number of teachers per 1,000 citizens in the Republic is 15, compared to an average of 20 for Russia as a whole, with 7 pupils per 1 teacher as compared to 5.6 pupils per teacher in the Russian Federation on average.
The same holds for healthcare. The number of medical professionals and personnel per 1,000 citizens in the Republic is 10, compared with an average of 12 for Russia as a whole.
Considering the need to provide social support to public sector workers, the draft proposes providing additional financial assistance worth 189 million to the Republic of Adygea to co-finance the provision of housing for said workers. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
3. Pursuant to the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, a draft has been submitted to the Government of the plans for the celebrations of the 350th anniversary of the voluntary accession of Buryatia to the Russian state. The draft has been approved by the committee charged with organizing the celebrations and stipulates a cost of 3.7 billion roubles.
Considering the strain on the consolidated budget (the share of priority spending in the consolidated budget is estimated at 90%) and the lack of local sources of funding for the main events connected with the celebrations of the 350th anniversary of voluntary accession of Buryatia to the Russian state, which is in 2011, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance to the Republic of Buryatia in 2009 in the form of a subsidy worth 770 million roubles as a part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
4. Pursuant to current legislation, compensation to natural and legal persons who have suffered damage as a result of terrorist acts or legitimate measures to prevent terrorist acts have been included in expenditure commitments of the Russian Federation as of January 1, 2007.
However, the procedure for providing such compensation payments from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for Emergencies and Disaster Relief, which was established by Government Decree No.750 (adopted on October 13, 2008), came into force on October 30, 2008.
To fulfil the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation and as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets, it is proposed the provision for the budget of the Republic of Daghestan with additional financial assistance in the form of subsidies worth 7.8 million roubles as a part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets. This amount is to compensate for the expenditure incurred in fulfilling the above-mentioned expenditure commitments. The amount has been determined by the Russian Ministry for Emergency Situations by agreement with the Finance Ministry.
5. In accordance with the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Finance Ministry of Russia has been ordered to consider the issue of balancing the budget of the Republic of Mari El and providing additional financial assistance worth 900 million roubles for the construction of a new cancer ward in the Republican Hospital in the city of Yoshkar-Ola, the reconstruction of the heating supply facilities, and the preparation of housing and utilities infrastructure for the heating season of 2009-2010.
As part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets and in accordance with the criteria approved at the meeting of the (tripartite) working group on improving inter-budget relations in the Russian Federation, a sum of 147.4 million roubles has been allocated to the Republic of Mari El to fulfil the region's socially significant expenditure commitments.
In order to fund the construction of a new cancer ward at the Republican Hospital in the city of Yoshkar-Ola, upgrade the heating supply system, and prepare housing and utilities infrastructure for the heating season of 2009-2010, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance worth 290 million roubles to the Republic of Mari El in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
6. In accordance with the written resolution of the Government Meeting on March 19, 2009, the Finance Ministry has been instructed, to consider the issue of financial support for the reconstruction of the theatre in the city of Kyzyl when preparing proposals for allocating subsidies as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
According to the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the estimated cost of the reconstruction of the Kok-Ool Musical and Drama Theatre in the city of Kyzyl is 325 million roubles in 2008 prices. The Government of the Republic of Tyva is to allocate 40 million roubles from the republican budget in 2009.
Considering that the reconstruction of the theatre was started in 2009 and is due to be completed in 2011, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of a financial assistance worth 50 million roubles to Republic of Tyva. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
The possibility of granting additional financial assistance worth 155 million roubles will be considered in 2010.
7. Pursuant to the instructions of the Russian Government, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance worth 280 million roubles to the Altai Territory. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
This subsidy from the Federal Budget would solve the issue of providing financial support for the preparation of the housing and utilities facilities for the heating season of 2009-2010.
8. In accordance with the written resolution of the Russian Government's meeting on March 19, 2009, the Finance Ministry of Russia has been instructed to consider additional financial support for the reconstruction of the theatre in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky when preparing proposals for granting subsidies as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
According to the Culture Ministry of the Russian Federation, the cost of reconstructing the Drama and Comedy Theatre in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky is estimated at 544.4 million roubles in 2007 prices.
During 2008, the cost of the reconstruction work that had already been carried out stood at 310.3 million roubles. As of January 1, 2009 that leaves 234.1 million roubles for the reconstruction. The Government of the Kamchatka Territory is committed to providing 53.7 million roubles for the said purpose from the regional budget.
Taking the above-mentioned issues into consideration, the draft of this Government executive order proposes extending additional financial assistance worth 180.4 million roubles to the Kamchatka Territory to complete the reconstruction of the Drama and Comedy Theatre in the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
9. In providing subsidies as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets and in accordance with the criteria approved by the meeting of the (tripartite) working group on on improving inter-budget relations in the Russian Federation, the budget of the Krasnodar Territory is to receive 835.2 million roubles to fund socially significant expenditure commitments in the region.
When the subsidies to the Krasnodar Territory were being considered in 2009, the increase in patrol point duty units and precinct police in the city of Sochi was not taken into account.
According to information from the Interior Ministry of Russia, the number of police officers must be increased by 392 in connection with the expected increase of the population of Sochi during the construction of Olympic facilities.
Based on the actual spending from the consolidated budget of the Krasnodar Territory for each public safety officer in 2008, the additional expenditures from the 2009 regional budget to provide for these police officers will amount to 106.2 million roubles.
The draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance worth 100 million roubles to the budget of the Krasnodar Territory to compensate for part of the territorial budget spending on increasing the number of public safety officers to ensure security, law and order during the preparations for the XXII Winter Olympic Games and the XI Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
10. The President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation have issued instructions to provide assistance for funding the meeting of the State Council of the Russian Federation at Kavkazskiye Mineralniye Vody in 2008.
On September 5 and 6, 2008, under the auspices of the State Council of the Russian Federation, there are to be meetings of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Council of Foreign Ministers of CSTO Member States. Preparations for these meetings has required additional expenditures previously not included in the plan of activities from the Stavropol Territory budget in order to modernize roads and develop adjacent areas. To compensate for the additional spending incurred by the Stavropol Territory for the above-mentioned purposes and in accordance with the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation, the draft of this Government executive order proposes providing additional financial assistance worth 84.8 million roubles to the budget of the Stavropol Territory. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
11. Pursuant to Decree No.1022 of the President of the Russian Federation (adopted on September 20, 2006) On the Celebration of the 300th Anniversary of the Birth of Mikhail Lomonosov, as well as an executive order and instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance to the Arkhangelsk Region in order to finance the restoration of buildings and build the Lomonosov University Gymnasium. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
The estimated cost for restoring buildings and drawing up a blueprint for an addition to the of the Arkhangelsk Lomonosov Lyceum, which will house a cafeteria, assembly hall, and gymnasium, amounts to 540 million roubles, of which 380 million roubles are due to be spent in 2009.
Considering the Arkhangelsk Region's decreased tax and non-tax revenues, the draft of this Government executive order proposes additional financial aid to the Arkhangelsk Region worth 203 million roubles.
12. Pursuant to the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation, the Finance Ministry of the Russian Federation has reviewed the performance of the consolidated budget of Vladimir Region as of July 1, 2009.
In accordance with amendments adopted to the Federal Budget for 2009, subsidies to Vladimir Region from the Federal Budget for the construction, reconstruction and modernization of public roads and bridges were reduced. The biggest road-engineering project in the Vladimir Region that receives Federal co-funding is the bridge across the Oka River that bypasses the city of Murom.
Considering the strain on the consolidated budget of the Vladimir Region and the need to complete the construction of the bridge across the Oka River by September 2009 deadline, the draft of this Government executive order proposes extending additional financial assistance worth 210 million roubles to the Vladimir Region. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
The Vladimir Region is to provide 120 million roubles from its own budget for these purposes.
13. The Government of the Russian Federation has instructed the Finance Ministry of the Russian Federation to find a solution to the issue of providing financial assistance worth 400 million roubles to the Voronezh Region to complete the reconstruction and putting into operation of the Chernavsky Bridge in October of 2009.
The estimated cost of reconstructing the bridge is 1.6 billion roubles. The bridge has been under reconstruction for 20 years. During this period, the Voronezh Region has spent 368.6 million roubles and the Federal Budget has spent 859.5 million roubles on the project.
Considering the strain on the consolidated budget of Voronezh Region and the need to complete and open the Chernavsky Bridge in October of this year, additional financial assistance worth 140 million roubles is to be extended to the Voronezh Region in accordance with the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation. The assistance will be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
The issue of granting additional financial assistance to complete the reconstruction and bring the facility into operation will be considered when proposals are prepared for granting subsidies as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets. The decision will take into account a review of the performance of the consolidated budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for 8 months.
If the performance of the budget changes, the Government of Voronezh Region will raise money to co-finance the reconstruction of the bridge.
14. The Government of the Russian Federation has instructed the Finance Ministry to review the issue of balancing the budget of the Irkutsk Region.
Considering the strain on the consolidated budget of the region and pursuant to the Russian Government's instructions, the draft of this Government executive order proposes allocating an extra 550 million roubles of financial assistance to the Irkutsk Region to reduce overdue credit indebtedness for financial obligations for socially significant purposes and finance the preparation of the housing and utilities facilities for the heating season. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
15. The Government of the Russian Federation has instructed the Finance Ministry to consider and facilitate the process of providing additional financial assistance from the Federal Budget to the Kaluga Region to complete the repairs of Kamenny Bridge in the city of Kaluga, which is a national historic and cultural landmark.
Considering the strain on the consolidated budget of the Kaluga Region and the need to complete the repairs on the Kamenny Bridge in the city of Kaluga, the draft of the Government executive order proposes providing additional financial assistance worth 470 million roubles to the budget of Kaluga Region in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
The Kaluga Region will provide 180 million roubles from its own budget for these purposes.
16. Pursuant to instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation and considering the strain on the consolidated budget of Novosibirsk Region, the draft of this Government executive order proposes providing additional financial assistance worth 280 million roubles to the Novosibirsk Region to ensure the Region's ability to balance its budget and to enable it to make timely social payments. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
17. Pursuant to the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation on the need to complete the construction and putting into operation of sports facilities in Ryazan Region in 2009, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance to the Ryazan Region in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets. The balance of the estimated cost for completing the four sports facilities in the Ryazan Region, which are being constructed under the auspices of the regional targeted programme Construction and Reconstruction of Sports Facilities in the Ryazan Region in 2007-2011, amounts to 337 million roubles, part of which will be provided by the allocations meant for the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy of Russia.
To ensure the opening of these facilities in 2009, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of a 280-million-rouble subsidy to the Ryazan Region.
18. Pursuant to the Russian Government's instructions regarding the possibility of increasing Federal Budget subsidies for the completion of the main sewer in the city of St Petersburg, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance worth 200 million roubles to the city of St Petersburg in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
The proposal to provide financial assistance to the city has been prompted by the need to comply with the Russian Federation's obligations under the 1992 Helsinki Convention to protect the marine environment of the Baltic Sea region and reduce the discharge of biogenic elements into the Baltic Sea.
The facility has been under construction since 1987. The total cost of the construction is estimated at 40.8 billion roubles in 2009 prices. The facility is scheduled to be operational by 2012. The balance of the total cost estimate of building the sewer is 14 billion roubles. The construction is financed from the Federal Budget, the budget of the city of St Petersburg, and from extra-budgetary sources.
A Federal Budget subsidy to the city of St Petersburg would fund the construction of a 224 meter micro tunnel, help prevent the silting-up of the sewer and the subsequent disruptions in the operations of the entire facility, and allow the installation of technological equipment purchased with loans and grants made available by international financial institutions to begin.
19. Pursuant to the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance worth 1.2 billion roubles to the Chukotka Autonomous Area in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
As regards those constituent entities of the Russian Federation that face unforeseen issues with balancing their budgets (the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic, the Republic of Ingushetia, the Moscow and Rostov Regions) financial assistance to constituent entities in the form of a subsidies as part of the measures to assist said constituent entities in balancing their budgets is to be made available for the following purposes.
20. The Republic of Karachayevo-Circassia is one of the constituent entities that receive significant financial assistance. According to the results the Republic's consolidated budget performance for six months in 2009 the percentage of tax and non-tax revenues was 29% of total revenues.
The Republic's overdue credit indebtedness in accordance with the laws On Veterans, On Rehabilitation of Victims of Political Repressions, and On Government Allowances to Citizens with Children as of January 1, 2005 amounted to 55.6 million roubles on July 1.
In addition, due to the need to satisfy actions for damages made on the treasury of the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic by enterprises and organizations for costs incurred due to social support programmes for privileged categories of citizens and to pay a total 335.6-million-rouble sum to satisfy protests by the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Republic finds it impossible to meet socially significant financial obligations from its consolidated budget in a timely manner.
Taking the above-mentioned issues into consideration, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance worth 350 million roubles to the Karachayevo-Circassian Republic so that it may fulfil its expenditure commitments for social support programmes for rehabilitated persons and victims of political repressions, settle court claims and protests made by the Public Prosecutor's Office regarding public obligations to privileged categories of citizens, and partially repay its overdue credit indebtedness. The assistance would be provided in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
21. The Republic of Ingushetia is one of the constituent entities that receive significant financial assistance. At the end of the first six months of this year, 92.8% of the Republic's total revenue came from a non-repayable grant from the Federal Budget.
Considering the significant assistance the Republic receives and the need to repay the budget's overdue credit intebtedness, the draft of this Government executive order proposes extending additional financial assistance worth 400 million roubles to the Republic of Ingushetia in the form of subsidies as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets.
22. The debt of the Moscow Region stood at 155.2 billion roubles as of June 1, 2009, which is 1% higher than the maximum amount of government debt allowed under budget legislation. In addition, from July to December of this year, the Moscow Region must pay 33 billion roubles to redempt the principal budget debt. Moreover, the servicing of government debt during said period will cost 10 billion roubles.
In providing subsidies as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets, the Moscow Region was excluded from the list of regions receiving subsidies because the actual budget sufficiency level of the Moscow Region was in excess of the established criterion.
According to the Finance Ministry of Russia, the budget of the Moscow Region in 2009 will report a deficit of over 18% of the Region's overall revenue without non-repayable grants from the Federal Budget, this index, according to the region's own assessment, will reach 21% .
In accordance with the petition of the Governor of the Moscow Region Boris Gromov, the draft of this Government executive order proposes extending additional financial assistance worth 4.6 billion roubles to the Moscow Region in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets, which will enable payments to be made to reduce the debt obligations of the Moscow Region and bring the size of the government debt and the regional budget deficit in line with the requirements of the Budget Code of the Russian Federation.
Further financial assistance to the Moscow Region will be determined on the basis of the results of the monitoring of budget performance for 8 months in 2009.
23. In connection with the petition of the Governor of Rostov Region, Vladimir Chub, the draft of this Government executive order proposes the provision of additional financial assistance to the Rostov Region in the form of a subsidy as part of the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets to compensate for the decrease in Federal funding for the construction of the bridge over the River Don in Rostov-on-Don.
The percentage of the consolidated regional budget used to pay wages to public sector employees and municipal employees in tax and non-tax revenues amounted to 51.3%.
Considering the strain on the budget of Rostov Region and the existence of an accounts payable worth 749.1 million roubles towards the payment for works related to the construction of the bridge over the River Don, the draft of this Government executive order proposes granting an additional 700 million roubles in financial assistance to the Rostov Region.
In summary, additional subsidies amounting to 11.8 billion roubles have been allocated to 23 constituent entities of the Russian Federation.
The remaining part of the unallocated funds for the measures to assist the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in balancing their budgets is to be distributed in October of 2009, based on the performance of the consolidated budgets of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation for 8 months in 2009.
5. Draft Bill of the Federal Law On Introducing Amendments to the Federal Law On the Securities Market and the Federal Law On the Special Features of the Issue and Circulation of Government and Municipal Securities.
The Finance Ministry of the Russian Federation has submitted the draft of the federal law On Introducing Amendments to the Federal Law On the Securities Market and the Federal Law On the Special Features of the Issue and Circulation of Government and Municipal Securities.
The draft of this law establishes the responsibility of the issuer to adopt a decision on the issuance of government or municipal securities (a report on the results of the issue) in the form of a regulatory act, and to publish a report of this decision in the media. The draft also provides for the possibility of the issuer's acquiring the issued securities before they reach maturity and their subsequent circulation in the securities market, as well as establishes the requirements for state registration of the terms of issuance and circulation of external bond loans of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation.
6. Draft Bill of the Federal Law On Introducing Amendments to Chapter 26, Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
In accordance with Article 342, Chapter 26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, the extraction of anthracite, coal, brown coal and shale is taxed at the rate of 4% of the value of the extracted minerals, as determined per Article 340 of the Code and based on the sales or estimated price of the extracted minerals. The use of a downward coefficient for the Mineral Extraction Tax depending on the conditions of coal production and its physical characteristics is not stipulated by Chapter 26 of the Code.
The draft submitted would set specific mineral extraction tax rates for the various types of coal, including:
According to the draft of the law in question, these mineral extraction tax rates would be subject to a deflator, which would take into account the changes of coal prices which will make it possible, beginning in 2011, to adjust automatically the tax rates in accordance with the actual coal prices.
Tax rebates would also be possible by reducing the tax by the amount of cost incurred to ensure the occupational safety in areas below the surface of the earth with high methane concentration and ignition-prone coal.
The size of the tax rebate is the product of the sum of the estimated tax and the occupational safety coefficient, whose value is determined according to a procedure established by the Government of the Russian Federation, but which may not exceed 0.3.
7. Draft Bill of the Federal Law On Introducing Amendments to Article 342, Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.
The draft bill of the law in question has been prompted by the need to create the proper conditions for the development of oil fields located in the indicated bodies of water in order to increase the volume of oil extraction by analogy with the provisions of Article 342 of the Code that came into force on January 1, 2009 pursuant to Federal Law No.158-FZ (adopted on July 22, 2008) On Introducing Amendments to Chapters 21, 23, 24, 25 and 26 of Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, as well as with certain other legislative acts of the Russian Federation on taxes and levies.
According to the draft bill, taxpayers have the right not to pay the mineral extraction tax when producing oil in fields fully or partially located in the Black and Okhotsk Seas. The draft bill stipulates a tax holiday at the initial stage of oil production in the Black Sea, until the volume of oil produced reaches 20 million tons or for a period of 10 years of development or 15 years for combined licenses, and for oil production in the Sea of Okhotsk until the volume of oil produced reaches 30 million tons or for a period of 10 years of development or 15 years for combined licenses.
Pursuant to the instructions of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin, the law shall come into force beginning on the day of its publication, and shall pertain to legal relations beginning on January 1, 2009.
8. Draft Bill of the Federal Law On Introducing Amendments to the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation
At present, coercive medical treatment is administered under a procedure set forth in the Criminal Procedural Code of the Russian Federation (hereinafter the CPC), with exemptions under Chapter 51 of the CPC. In cases when legal proceedings are being carried out against a person in order to apply coercive medical treatment, the procedural rights of said person are exercised by that person's legitimate representative (close relative, organizations with appropriate powers of guardianship and trusteeship), who is brought into the case by decision of the investigator or the law court.
According to Part 2, Article 437 of the CPC, the legitimate representative has the right to know what crime the person he/ she represents is charged with, file petitions and disqualifications, present evidence, take part in investigative actions, have access to the materials of the criminal case, take part in court sessions, and appeal procedural acts and decisions of the court. The participation of a defence attorney is also mandatory (Article 438 of the CPC). In accordance with parts 3 and 6 of Article 439 of the CPC, upon the termination of the preliminary investigation and referral of the criminal case to a court of law for the application of coercive medical treatment, the investigator must notify the legitimate representative and defence attorney of the person who is the recipient of the coercive medical treatment, and produce for them a copy of the relevant ruling.
In law enforcement practice, exemptions from the standard procedure of criminal process for this category of persons are interpreted as exemptions from the procedural status that preclude personal participation in the legal process on a criminal case. According to Part 1, Article 402, Article 444 and parts 1 and 3 of Article 445 of the CPC, the person against whom legal proceedings are being carried out in order to apply coercive medical treatment is not included among the persons who have the right to appeal the court's decision to apply coercive medical treatment or other effective legal acts, or to petition for the termination or change in coercive medical treatment.
In accordance with the legal precedent expressed in the Ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation referred to above, the fact that the Criminal Procedural Legislation fails to differentiate the regulation of the rights of individuals from this category based on the actual ability of the person to take part in procedural actions personally imposes unwarranted restrictions on citizens' constitutional right to protect their rights and freedoms by all legitimate means, including the right to legal representation.
Thus the persons against whom legal proceedings are being carried out in order to apply coercive medical treatment must have the opportunity to exercise their procedural rights personally, including the rights to take part in the legal process, have access to the materials of the criminal case, take part in the court session and appeal procedural acts and decisions of the court, if expert psychiatric and forensic evaluation concludes that the person's mental state makes this possible.
For these purposes the draft of the law in question proposes the following amendments to the CPC:
According to Article 196 of the CPC, expert psychiatric and forensic evaluation is obligatory if it is necessary to establish the mental or physical state of the suspect (the accused) when doubts arise as to the ability of the accused to defend his/ her rights and legitimate interests independently during the course of the criminal proceedings. In this regard, the draft of the law in questions grants the above rights to the person against whom legal proceedings are being carried out in order to apply coercive medical treatment if the forensic and psychiatric evaluation confirms that the person in question is capable of exercising his or her procedural rights and taking part in the court hearings independently.
9. Draft Bill of the Federal Law On Ratification of the Memorandum of Understanding on Coordinated Development of the Ring Road Around the Black Sea
The draft bill of the federal law in question proposes ratification of the Memorandum of Understanding on Coordinated Development of the Ring Road Around the Black Sea (hereinafter the Memorandum), signed on behalf of the Russian Government in Belgrade on April 19, 2007.
The aim of the Memorandum is to achieve understanding between member nations of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) regarding the necessity of:
The development of the roads within the Russian Federation that constitute the Ring Road around the Black Sea will be part of the Automobile Roads subprogrammes of the Federal Targeted Programmes Modernization of the Transport System of Russia (2002-2010) and The Development of the Transport System of Russia (2010-2015).
Of the 12 member nations of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation that have signed the Memorandum, eight nations have reported that they have completed the necessary internal procedures required for its coming into force. They are: Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine. In accordance with Article 7, the Memorandum is effective as of November 1, 2008.
The adoption of the Draft of this Federal Law will contribute to the development of the network of roads in the Black Sea region of Russia, and the draft in question is in keeping with the Basic Guidelines of the Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation in the Period to 2012 to develop the transportation system and make transportation more competitive.
Legal confirmation of the obligations of the Russian Federation arising from the provisions of the Memorandum in the form of a federal law would enable the Russian Federation to take part in coordinating its policy with the adjacent member nations in the region for the development of the road, including the approval of its main route, its connections and branches, and its technical parameters, all of which would create a network of roads that conforms to modern requirements and standards and to the parameters agreed on by all the member nations participating in the project. The Memorandum is subject to ratification in accordance with the Federal Law On International Treaties of the Russian Federation.
10. Introducing an Amendment to the Statute on the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation
11. Introducing an Amendment to the Statute on the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development of the Russian Federation
In accordance with the Labour Code of the Russian Federation (Article 348.8), an employment contract may be signed with an athlete under the age of 14 with the consent of one of the parents (guardians), as well as with the consent of an organization with appropriate powers of guardianship and trusteeship, which is issued after a preliminary medical check-up (examination), whose procedure is determined by the executive body authorized by the Russian Government.
Because the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development of Russia is a federal executive body that formulates government policy and provides legal regulation in healthcare, social development, labour and protection of the rights of consumers, including preventative medical measures, labour conditions and safety, the draft decree would vest the Ministry of Healthcare and Social Development of Russia with the powers to approve the procedure of preliminary medical check-up (examination) on the basis of which an organization with appropriate powers of guardianship and trusteeship may issue permission to conclude an employment contract with athletes under the age of 14.
The adoption of the draft corresponds to the Basic Guidelines of the Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation in the Period until 2012 in the area of medical support for athletes.
The adoption of the decree would allow athletes under the age of 14 with whom an employment contract has been signed to engage in professional activities without damage to their health.
12. Adopting Abbreviated Names of Federal Executive Bodies
13. Submitting the agreement between the Russian Federation and the European Union on the participation of the Russian Federation in the European Union military operation in the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic (EUFOR Chad/CAR) to the President of the Russian Federation for subsequent ratification.
The Draft Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation proposes the approval of the said Agreement and its submission to the President of the Russian Federation for the purpose of its subsequent ratification by the State Duma.
The provisions of this Agreement provide the international legal framework for the participation of military units from the armed forces of the Russian Federation in the European Union operation in the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic, determine the status and subordination of these military units, ensure the protection of secret information, address the financial issues involved in the participation of Russian military units in the European Union operation, and define the procedure for dealing with possible claims and disagreements.
14. Allocating resources to the Government of the Republic of Daghestan from the Reserve Fund of the Government of the Russian Federation for Emergencies and Disaster Relief.
Moscow, July 22, 2009
* Press releases by the Department of Press Service and Information contain the materials submitted by the executive federal bodies for discussion by the Presidium of the Government of the Russian Federation.
