Meeting with Chairman of House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko

    Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko instructed the MPs to take a principled approach to the consideration of the draft law on 2017 budget. The head of state made the statement at the meeting with Chairman of the House of Representatives Vladimir Andreichenko on 19 September.

    The President was informed that the regular session of the fifth-convocation House of Representatives will open on 3 October. “We plan to consider more than 20 issues during this session. “It is very important to make sure that the session is well prepared. We agreed that the budget will be on the agenda too,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said and added that MPs should take a principled approach to the consideration of this important document.

    According to Vladimir Andreichenko, the draft law on the budget is under consideration in permanent commissions. An expanded-participation meeting of the permanent commission on budget and finance has already been held. The zero reading is scheduled for 21 September with the participation of the Prime Minister and government representatives.

    The head of state also drew attention to the employment of current MPs. “There can be some wishes concerning the employment of the MPs, who are quitting the parliament but not the political life,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said. “I would like the MPs, who leave the parliament, to find their place in life. There are MPs we cannot afford losing.”

    The meeting also focused on the organization of the joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic which is due on 7 October. “We should award and thank the people,” the President said. “Future MPs may be interested in learning what the parliament had to deal with yesterday and what it will take care of tomorrow. Being a member of the parliament is hard work. Taking a seat to do nothing or skipping a session is not part of the job.”

    The head of state was informed that in 2017 Belarus will host the session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly. Representatives of 57 countries will take part in it. The President instructed Belarusian MPs to do their best to hold this event at the highest level.