The chairperson of the Central Election Commission, Lidia Yermoshina, said that the district election commissions have started receiving the applications from future candidates to the deputies to register their initiative groups. To become a candidate to the deputy one needs to collect at least 1,000 signatures in his/her support. An initiative group should be made up of no fewer than 10 people. An initiative group membership list should be presented to the district election commission....

Belarusian Steel Works (BSW) has won a tender for the supply of steel fiber for the construction of a tunnel between Austria and Italy, Director General of Belarusian Steel Works Nikolai Andrianov told a press conference on July 16. “Our joint venture in Austria has won a tender for the supply of fiber for the construction of a tunnel between Austria and Italy,” he said. The length of the tunnel will make up 57km, the cost of the project – ?17bln. “The construction has not been...

The Belarusian Oil Company (BOC) plans to increase the exports of oil products on the FOB terms to 50% by the end of 2008, BelTA learnt from the company. The company has signed several contracts with customers including long-term contracts on the delivery of oil products on the FOB terms via the ports of Latvia and Estonia. The supplies on such terms (i.e. goods delivery on board in the port of shipment) are one of the priority areas in upgrading the efficiency of exports of the Belarusian...

The deficit of the consolidated budget of Belarus in 2009 is projected to make up Br2.8 trillion, or 1.8% of GDP, First Deputy Finance Minister Andrei Kharkovets said at a session of the Council of Ministers focusing on the 2009 draft budget on July 15. In 2009 the revenues are prognosticated at Br71.9 trillion, expenditures Br74.7 trillion. According to the 2009 draft budget, Br8.7 trillion will be assigned to finance 56 national programmes, up almost 30% from 2008. A priority in the...

Belarus and Moldova plan to set up a joint trading company to sell Belarusian petrochemical products on the Moldavian market, BelTA learnt from Trade and Economic Counsellor of the Belarusian Embassy in Moldova Igor Milidovich. The Belneftekhim concern will be the company’s founder from the Belarusian side. The Moldavian co-founder has not been defined yet; however it will be one of the economic agents involved in the sale of petrochemical products in Moldova. The Belneftekhim concern had...

From January 1, 2009, citizens are guaranteed to be refunded 100% of their deposits (regardless of the deposit currency) in any bank to the amount that is equivalent of up to EUR 5,000 inclusive. President Alexander Lukashenko has signed the Law “On Guaranteed Refund of Bank Deposits to Natural Persons”. As BelTA was told in the press service of the head of state, this regulatory legal act identifies the procedure for refunding natural persons’ cash assets invested into bank deposits...

In H1 2008 the industrial output in Belarus was up 13% over the same period last year to Br62.712 trillion, BelTA was told in the Ministry of Statistics and Analysis. In 2008 the industrial output is projected to increase by 8-9%. According to preliminary date of the ministry, over the six months 2008 the production of consumer goods was up 13.6% to Br11.614 trillion (the annual tart is 9-10% up). The manufacture of foodstuffs increased by 13.3% (the annual target - 8-9%) and reached Br5.734...

Due to the international arts festival Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk, this city is turning into a cultural centre of Europe, Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alexander Avdeev told a press conference on July 11. According to him, the success of the festival secured Belarus a prominent place in the cultural life of Europe. The participation in Slavonic Bazaar in Vitebsk is very prestigious, this is why artistes do their utmost to take part in this festival.

The customs services of Belarus and Russia have to complete the development of 5 checkpoints on the border of the Union State, Chairman of the State Customs Committee Alexander Shpilevsky said at a joint session of the State Control Committee of Belarus and Audit Chamber of Russia in Minsk on July 11. He noted that a lot has been done during the implementation of the programme of the immediate development of the infrastructure of the checkpoints on the territory of Belarus in 2002-2007. A...

Holding free and fair parliamentary elections will help Belarus make progress in relations with the European Union and international community on the whole, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Belarus Mireille Musso said at a press conference dedicated to France’s EU presidency and the national holiday of the country on July 10. If the election campaign is held in the way the Belarusian authorities have repeatedly stated, that is open and transparent, then we will be...