HAS MOSCOW CREATED A SUPERPOWER OR UNDERPOWER?

The presidents of Russia and Belarus have signed a Treaty on Establishing a Union State at a solemn ceremony in the Kremlin. It will be recalled that the signing was first scheduled for November 26, only to be put off due to the Russian leader’s illness. Observers voiced the possibility that this illness was a diplomatic one caused by Boris Yeltsin’s reluctance to sign or unwillingness that the treaty be ratified by the lame-duck State Duma which has in fact completed all its sessions. But, since the treaty has been signed and the Duma is going to ratify it in an extraordinary session, we can only agree with those who tried to persuade us that Mr. Yeltsin really was sick or with those who were certain the signing was deferred because it was necessary to specify more details in the text. Now, in President Yeltsin’s words, “Not a single hole remains in the treaty that even a tiny mouse could get through.”

It is difficult not to agree with the Russian president: the union state resembles least of all a state as such. It most of all looks like the integrated structures of Russia and Belarus, which have already existed but not functioned a single day. According to the treaty’s text, each member-state preserves, with due account of the powers delegated to the Union State, its own sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, administrative structure, Constitution, national flag, emblem, and other attributes of statehood. The treaty signatories keep intact their membership in the UN and other international organizations. “The possibility of a single membership in international organizations and associations shall be determined by the two parties based on mutual consent,” the treaty says.

The document points out that the Union State has an emblem, flag, and anthem of its own. Union States official insignia are to be established by its parliament and to be approved by its High State Council.

The official languages of the member-states are also the Union State’s official languages. Russian is to be the working language in Union State agencies.

The Union State is to have a single monetary unit (currency). Money emission is only to be carried out from a single center. The existing monetary units are to remain in circulation on the member-states’ territory until a single currency is introduced and a single emission center is established. The document says the Union State pursues a single policy of price formation, including matters of price and tariff regulation. The document notes that the same principles of tax collection, “irrespective of the place of residence of a taxpayer,” are valid on the territory of this state. The Union State has a single customs space, with a single export-control procedure.

The Union State’s budget is to be formed at the expense of annual agreed-upon allocations by the member-states. “The member-states shall, on their own, bear the expenses connected with the execution of measures not stipulated in the budget of the Union State,” the treaty continues.

The High State Council is the highest body of the Union State. It comprises the heads of both states, the heads of governments, and parliamentary chamber heads of the member-states. The chairman of the Council of Ministers, of the parliamentary chambers, and of the Union State’s court.

Under the treaty, the High State Council is presided over by “one of the heads of member-states on a rotating basis, unless specified otherwise by the member-states.”

The treaty envisions establishing a Union State bicameral parliament consisting of the House of the Union and the House of Representatives, with the latter to be elected and the former to be appointed for a period of four years.

The Council of Ministers is to be the Union State’s executive body. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers is to be appointed by the High State Council. “He/she shall be the head of government of one of the member-states on a rotating basis,” the treaty provides.

The Union State’s court includes nine judges appointed by the Union Parliament on recommendation of the High State Council. The judges are appointed for six years, with a third of court members to be replaced every two years.

An Auditing Chamber is to be formed to control the Union State’s finances. It consists of eleven members to be appointed to six year terms. It cannot comprise more than seven citizens of the same member-state, the treaty adds.

The document’s final section notes that the Russian Federation and Belarus, wanting of the step-by-step implementation of the treaty, have adopted a program to carry it out.

In accordance with the treaty, elections to the House of Representatives of the first Union State Parliament shall be held not later than six months after the member-states’ parliaments adopt the relevant legislative acts.

The treaty is open to membership by other states which are subjects of the international law, share the objective and principles of the Union State, and fully assume obligations under the treaty, the document says. It is stressed that the treaty “is not aimed at third states. The member-states shall observe obligations arising out of previously concluded international treaties.”

“The treaty shall be valid indefinitely,” the document says. It is subject to ratification by the member- states and will take effect on the day of the exchange of the instruments of ratification.

Even these provisions show that there will be no new state on the world’s political map, with economic integration not yet finalized by the union participants. Nonetheless, Messrs. Lukashenka and Yeltsin are determined to put new passengers in an idling car. Speaking at the signing ceremony, the President of Belarus marked the 150% rise in trade turnover with Russia over the past two years as a big plus in terms of integration. Mr. Yeltsin quipped to this that Russia and Ukraine “still fail to reach a trade turnover like this.” The happy Lukashenka reacted in a flash: “We must also draw Ukraine in.”