Belarus
Belarus has not yet introduced a requirement for the filing of CbC reports, as required under the BEPS Action 13 (CbC reporting) minimum standard.
Belarus has not yet introduced a requirement for the filing of CbC reports, as required under the BEPS Action 13 (CbC reporting) minimum standard.
According to the National Statistical Committee, the Belarusian SME sector consists of 111 214 legal entities (including SOEs and companies in mixed ownership with fewer than 250 employees), which amounts to 78.3% of total businesses as of January 1 2019.
Article 22 of the Belarusian Constitution states that all citizens are equal before the law. The new Penal Code, adopted in 2002, punishes all violations or limitations on rights and freedoms, as well as all preferential treatment based on race, ethnicity, language, origin, opinions or membership of a civil society organisation and which does significant harm to the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the citizen.
This chapter identifies, documents and provides estimates of the various subsidies in Belarus that relate to the production or use of coal, oil and related petroleum products, natural gas, and electricity and heat generated on the basis of these fossil fuels. The chapter also briefly looks at the subsidies benefiting energyefficiency measures and renewable energy sources. An overview of the country's energy sector is first given to place the measures listed into context. In addition, the chapter discusses pricing and tax policies in the energy sector in Belarus. The analysis summarises the context, the state of play, and the mechanics of the complex and evolving landscape of energy subsidies in the country.
While state-owned enterprises continue to be the backbone of the Belarusian economy, the government has paid greater attention to SME development in recent years. Slow but steady progress has been made since 2012 to simplify regulatory procedures, and legislative reforms have been implemented in key areas, such as insolvency, business registration and public procurement. Surveys suggest that Belarusian SMEs have significant levels of internationalisation and innovation activity compared to other EaP countries.
As in many countries, the economies of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA) have been negatively affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Their governments responded by addressing the health impacts and providing relief to affected businesses and workers. Many EECCA countries have also implemented measures that will help advance environmental objectives as part of their rescue and recovery plans. Nevertheless, much more needs to be done to ensure that recovery plans accelerate a green transition, thereby building resilience against external shocks. This policy paper analyses measures related to COVID-19 in 11 EECCA countries based on their potential to advance the transition to a greener, climate-resilient and low-carbon economy. Recommendations suggest ways to ensure that governments align efforts to support economic recovery with their objectives on climate change, biodiversity and wider environmental protection.
The impact of the Covid-19 crisis on public health in the six EU Eastern Partner (EaP) countries remains limited with 187 reported fatalities in the region as of 14 April. Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (because of their proximity to Iran) saw the region’s first cases of Covid-19 in late February. Swift containment measures and limited intra-regional mobility have so far helped limit the spread of the virus, and the number of recorded cases remains relatively low in the South Caucasus.
Belarus, like many countries around the world, faces the challenge of diversifying its energy mix and enhancing its energy security while also reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One of its priorities is to lower its heavy reliance on natural gas imports from Russia by producing more low-emission energy domestically, including renewable and nuclear power. And while Belarus has managed to decouple energy demand from economic growth, a big potential remains for improved energy efficiency due to the country’s inefficient Soviet-era infrastructure and insufficient investments in energy.
Thanks to a favourable regulatory environment and a promising potential for renewables, the IEA selected Belarus for a pilot study for the Clean Energy Technology Assessment Methodology (CETAM). This methodology, developed with the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), aims to provide clear, transparent information about clean energy technology markets in emerging economies. The programme’s goal is to identify the most promising technologies for policy support and investment and to establish metrics for tracking their deployment over time.
This report assesses the range of technological options in Belarus on both the demand and supply side to determine which show the most potential for further development, in line with the country’s policy goals and resource endowment. Appropriate policies and measures that support a well-functioning market for the development of local renewable sources would help the government reach its energy security targets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Closer monitoring of priority energy efficiency technologies would allow Belarus to implement planned measures more effectively and optimise its energy savings potential.
This chapter summarises the country-specific reports on climate-related development finance for 11 countries of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA). The full country reports are available on the website of the OECD-hosted GREEN Action Programme [www.oecd.org/environment/outreach/eap-tf.htm]. Each report analyses the country’s climate targets and priority sectors/areas for climate actions; development finance flows to support climate actions in the EECCA region; and in-country enabling environments, such as laws, regulations, institutional arrangements and domestic financing mechanisms.
Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have clear aspirations to strengthen civic participation and increase prosperity for all. A highly skilled and knowledgeable population is critical to achieving these goals, which makes creating and maintaining high quality and equitable education systems a vital part of regional development efforts. Results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that learning outcomes in the region have generally improved, but that the improvement has not been equitable. While countries in the region are producing some of the top performing students in the world, many other students are being left behind.
This report, jointly developed by OECD and UNICEF, analyses PISA data in detail to identify the strengths, challenges and unique features of education systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Drawing upon a rich knowledge base of education policy and practice in the region, it makes recommendations about how systems in the region can provide an excellent education for all students. This report will be of interest to regional policy-makers as well as individuals who wish to learn more about education in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
Conveniently located near the world’s fastest growing energy markets, the resource-rich and transit countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia contribute significantly to world energy security. However, shared challenges across the region include aged infrastructure, high energy intensity, low energy efficiency, untapped alternative energy potential and poorly functioning regional energy markets.
This publication highlights the energy policies and sector developments of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan during 2013-14 and provides a summary of key recommendations for policy makers in the region.
Energy policy analysis is conducted in line with the INOGATE Programme’s four main pillars of energy development: energy market convergence, energy security, sustainable development and investment attraction. Started in 1996, the INOGATE Programme is one of the longest running energy technical assistance programmes funded by the European Union and works within the policy frameworks of the Baku Initiative and the Eastern Partnership. The INOGATE Programme co-operates with 11 Partner Countries to support reduction in their dependency on fossil fuels and imports, to improve the security of their energy supply and to mitigate overall climate change. It also supports the Eastern Partnership, a joint initiative between the European Union, EU Member States, and the Eastern European and Caucasus countries. Launched in 2009, the Eastern Partnership aims at advancing political association and economic integration.
This publication has been produced with European Union financial assistance provided through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument.
The Republic of Belarus has established water security as the country’s main overarching policy objective in the field of water resource management, notably in its draft Strategy of Water Resource Management in the Context of Climate Change for the Period until 2030 (Water Strategy 2030). The strategy’s primary focus is to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, and Belarus plans to do so through six areas of reform. First, Belarus aims to introduce best available techniques and further improve water use efficiency. Second, it will better account for the impacts of climate change on water resources and adapt its water sector to climate change. Third, Belarus aims to improve surface and ground water monitoring systems. Fourth, it plans to introduce an integrated system of permits for nature users and reform its pricing system for water resources. Fifth, Belarus will adopt and implement river basin management plans, and lastly it will continue co-operation with its neighbours on transboundary rivers.
The structure of revenue sharing between the various layers of governments affects the public sector’s incentives for providing infrastructure for private business development. The recent experience of Belarus has been that any change in local government’s own revenues is almost entirely offset by changes in shared revenues. Local governments are unable to benefit from an increase in the local tax base and, therefore do not see any interest in expanding it. This situation leads to stricter business regulation and lower growth compared with a system with greater fiscal incentives, and has a negative effect on the efficiency of local provision of public goods. A reform of the existing financial system for local governments is required to provide some degree of autonomy for local self-government, with the aim of enhancing local governments’ capacity to finance local development.
This publication provides the results of collaboration on water security between the Republic of Belarus (hereafter “Belarus”), the OECD and its partners implementing the EU-funded EU Water Initiative Plus project. As such, it is the most recent chapter in the OECD’s long history of engagement on water-related issues in the region of Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia (EECCA). The OECD has supported the EECCA countries since the early 1990s as they transitioned towards market economies following the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The OECD has provided guidance and expertise on strengthening water management as a major aspect of building greener economies and safeguarding long-term water, food and energy security. Its work has helped improve environmental and water management policies and facilitated the integration of environmental considerations into broader reform agendas.
Based on the OECD standard methodology, the study presents quantitative estimates of government support to consumers and producers of coal, oil and related petroleum products and natural gas, and electricity and heat generated from these fossil fuels. This report summarises the main findings of the analysis of fossil-fuel subsidy schemes in the six European Union's Eastern Partner (EaP) countries – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The study updates the 2018 Inventory of Energy Subsidies in the EU’s Eastern Partnership Countries by providing data and estimates for 2016‑19. The analysis focuses on measuring two major types of fossil-fuel subsidies: direct transfers of funds to producers and consumers; and tax expenditure. This report also briefly discusses the taxation and energy pricing policies that have had direct or indirect impact on the evolution of fossil-fuel subsidies in the region. Detailed estimates of all individual support measures for each of the six countries are provided in Annexes to the report.