The first session of the timber industry commission discussed measures to stimulate the industry as well as thorny points in drafting Russia's new Forest Code.
Photo: Vladimir Ryabkov
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Russian Business Unwilling to Give Timber Away to Govt
The commission for timber industry, set up by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), held its first session yesterday. The lobbyist group of the RUIE is set to press for further amendments to the Forest Code and participation in drafting the federal program on timber industry development program at the Finance and Economic Development Ministries.
The first session of the timber industry commission discussed a set of measures to stimulate the industry as well as thorny points in the adoption of the Forest Code. The meeting, however, focused on the actual functioning of the new lobbyist body. Zakhar Smushkin, chairman of the board at Ilim Pulp, was elected to head the commission which was set up at the Union of Industrials and Entrepreneurs on June 21. Discussions on how the Industrials and Entrepreneurs are going to champion their interests in timber industry focused on the Forest Code.
So far, Russia’s Finance and Economic Development Ministries, which are in charge for drafting the bill, seem to be major opponents of the RUIE’s commission. Representatives of the two ministries sat at yesterday’s meeting of the timber commission and showed that tensions are growing between the government and the businessmen’s lobbyist body. Vsevolod Gavrilov of the Economic Development Ministry’s department, agreed that “the issues on the agenda were discussed in the right vein”. He said, however, that ways of enforcing the measures to encourage the industry, suggested by the RUIE suggest, are “open to debate and call for additional work.”
The Finance and Economic Development Ministries disagree with the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs on issues of the use of forest lands, tenders and auctions on the distribution of timberlands as well as long-term lease of forests,. The future federal program on the development of timber industry is another possible point for the Industrialists to lobby. According to Valery Prilipov of the timber industry department at the Economic Development Ministry, the draft program is to be submitted to the government this fall. Apparently, the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs will do its best to influence the drafting. Yet, the union is not up for a conflict with the government. A representative of the commission mentioned at the session of the timber commission that the second draft “has considered 80 percent of the business’ interests.”
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All the Article in Russian as of Aug. 16, 2006
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