Vladimir Putin to Attend Session of Russia-Belarus Supreme State Council on Monday

Russian president Vladimir Putin will take part in a session of the Russia-Belarus Supreme State Council (VGS) to be held in Minsk on Monday.

RIA Novosti was told at the Standing Committee of the Union State that the participants in the session will approve the Union budget for 2003, discuss the drafting of the Constitutional Act, and the fulfillment of the joint programme of action to implement the provisions of the Treaty of the Union State's creation.

The VGS session will also consider economic and trade cooperation between Russia and Belarus and the realisation of the Union State's social development concept.

In addition, a range of issues pertaining to ensuring the security of the Union State has been also submitted for consideration of participants in the session, which includes the functioning of the regional group of Russian and Belarussian forces in 2003 and measures to implement the security concept for the period till 2008.

The VGS working plan for 2003 will also be discussed.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Russia-Belarus Union approved the Union State's budget for 2003 at the 22nd session on January 16th.

The Union's budget to the tune of 2,438,346,400 Russian roubles for 2003 has been approved. Russia's allocations are to make up 1,530,820,000 roubles, and those of Belarus -824,300,000 roubles.

The financing of the following programmes in percent to the total volume of the budgets has also been stipulated: production (15 percent), military-technical cooperation (11 percent), law-enforcement activity and ensuring the security of the Union State (37 percent), social policy, health care and physical culture, education, culture and mass media (25 percent), the maintenance of the Union State's bodies (6 percent).

The Union State's budget for 2003 is to earmark means for 38 programmes, sub-programmes and arrangements.

The second session of the Russian-Belarussian commission for drafting the Constitutional Act will be held on February 3rd.