President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with members of the Council of Legislators (Federal Assembly) in St Petersburg.
During his working visit to St Petersburg, President of Russia Vladimir Putin met with members of the Council of Legislators under the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation at Tauride Palace. Timed to coincide with Day of Russian Parliamentarism (27 April), the event is traditionally held at Tauride Palace.
Attended by Federation Council Chair Valentina Matvienko and State Duma Chair Vyacheslav Volodin, the meeting focused on improving the anti-corruption legislation, providing a legislative support to the state policy on trade regulation and import substitution, quality of parliamentary control at the federal and regional levels, and a potential for streamlining Russian legislation in the sphere of the state regional policy.
The President wished the lawmakers all the best on the occasion of Day of Russian Parliamentarism.
Vladimir Putin welcomed legislators’ active interaction with the Russian Government and the Russian Audit Chamber. He stressed that it was important to regularly compare notes during the process of lawmaking, including in the context of efforts to implement the national projects.
He noted that the bulk of the work to implement the national projects and many other programmes devolved on the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. “It is there, on the ground, that national priorities are being addressed. It is there that the general picture of changes is formed whereby people judge the efficiency of the government and the adopted laws,” Vladimir Putin said.
“I hope that the Council of Legislators will build up on its prestige and professionalism based on its extensive seven-year long experience and will play an increasingly more important role when it comes to improving the quality of Russia’s legal development infrastructure. Thereby it will help to put into practice the constitutional provisions on federalism and a democratic rule-of-law state,” he said.
“Generally, I expect the legislative corps to carry out work that is systematic and serious-minded, on the one hand, and more intense, on the other. I hope for their active involvement in the practical implementation of each national project and an orientation to achieving results in the interests of your voters and all citizens [of Russia],” Vladimir Putin stressed.
The Federation Council Chair thanked the head of state for paying constant attention to the Council’s operations. “Today, the priority for the Federal Assembly and all regional parliaments is to provide legislative support for the implementation of the President’s Address and to monitor the implementation of the national projects,” she said and made a number of concrete proposals on how to fulfill the national projects.
Valentina Matvienko thinks it is necessary to codify the national projects by law as part of the general system of strategic planning that currently lacks even the concept of national projects.
She identified the strengthening of the regions’ economic and financial potential as yet another important subject. Of course, there are certain successes in this field. Over 70 constituent entities were in the black at the end of last year, whereas there were just 38 such entities a year before. Public debts incurred by certain regions are shrinking.
And yet, she added, their fiscal capacities are still very different. Valentina Matvienko believes that this gap could be narrowed down by way of deploying facilities covered by the federal targeted investment programme in struggling regions. Private investment projects could also do the trick.
She mentioned the fact that the Address called for extending tax benefits to families with children, cultural organisations and a number of others. “These are the right measures but they will cut revenues going into regional and local budgets. In this connection, we suggest drafting a package of measures to compensate for the shortfall in revenue.”
Valentina Matvienko noted that there were persistent attempts to regulate all spheres of local life from the [federal] centre. “All of this is fettering local initiative, eroding the foundations of federalism, and downplaying the role of regional parliaments that should regulate these matters within their powers as constituent entities of the Russian Federation.”
She stressed that the number of regional legislative initiatives was growing. This is a sign that local lawmakers are at last ready to fine-tune the legal system to adapt to the territorial specifics.
Valentina Matvienko pointed to the need to finalise the review and stock-taking and to repeal, as of 1 January 2021, all outdated, excessive and archaic regulations. She also suggested undertaking this work at the regional level.
Commenting on other features of the presidential “May” executive order, she supported the Supreme Court’s proposal to mitigate the approach to punishing business people and to introduce a new type of punishment – “criminal action” – into the legislation.
Valentina Matvienko also suggested considering the possibility of extending the maternity capital programme at least until 2025.
She also expanded on the legislative initiatives that the Federation Council was working on.
Ms Matvienko reported that the upper chamber had started the preparations for the 75th anniversary of Victory [in the Great Patriotic War] to be celebrated next year. “Without waiting for the arrival of 2020, we must find out exactly what each war veteran needs and try to give them all the necessary assistance and surround them with warmth and care for them.”
Vyacheslav Volodin noted that the lawmakers needed to work in close coordination with the Government to achieve the targets that were set out for them. In this connection, he reported on the State Duma’s legislative work.
The event was attended by Council of Legislators members – chairpersons of the regional parliaments.