Russia-EU Permanent Partnership Council to meet in Brussels.

LONDON, November 19 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russia-EU Permanent Partnership
Council on Freedom, Security and Justice will hold its 13th meeting in
Brussels on Friday.
The meeting will discuss the implementation of the Russia-EU roadmap
and a would-be agreement between Russia and the European Union on
simplifying the visa procedures and on readmission. Participants in the
meeting will also address issues of visa-free dialogue, migration, border
cooperation, fighting transnational crime, including cyber crime,
terrorism, drug and human trafficking, and cooperation in criminal, civil
and commercial cases.
The Russian delegation to the meeting will be headed by Russian
Minister of Justice Alexander Konovalov, who is Russian president's
special envoy for cooperation with the European Union in the areas of
freedom, security and justice. The delegation will include Deputy Interior
Minister Sergei Bulavin, Director of the Federal Migration Service
Konstantin Romodanovsky, head of the Federal Security Service's fifth
service Sergei Beseda, first deputy head of the Federal Anti-drug Service
Vladimir Kalanda, deputy chairman of the Supreme Court of Arbitration
Tatiana Andreyeva, Russia's permanent representative at the European Union
Vladimir Chizhov, officials from the Foreign Ministry, Prosecutor General'
s Office and the Supreme Court.
The European Union will be represented by Belgian Minister of Justice
Stefaan de Clerck, Belgian Interior Minister Annemie Turtelboom, Belgian
State Secretary for Mobility Melchior Wathelet, Vice-President of the
European Commission and EU Commissioner for Justice, Citizenship and
Fundamental Rights Viviane Reding, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs
Cecilia Malmstrom, and Hungarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of
Justice Tibor Navracsics.

.Russian State Duma to consider draft budget for 2011 in 2nd reading.

MOSCOW, November 19 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian State Duma lower
parliament house on Friday will discuss in the second reading the country'
s federal budget for 2011 and for the planned period of 2012-2013.
The lawmakers will approve budgetary allocations by items within the
general amount of expenditures approved in the first reading. Apart from
this, the low house will consider programs of state domestic and foreign
borrowings, and state guarantee programs in roubles and foreign currencies.
As many as 428 amendments have been offered by the second reading, of
which 185 are to be incorporated. These amendments were submitted by the
government to such sections as national economy, healthcare, education,
and inter-budgetary relations. Note should be made that any amendments not
specifying the source of funding are turned down.
The section of inter-budgetary transfers provides for allocations to
regional budgets for kindergartens (0.5 billion roubles), to sponsor
studies in medical institutions for more students (0.5 billion roubles),
to cover the deficit of the Social Insurance Fund (11.3 billion roubles).
Extra funds worth 1.1 billion roubles will be allocated to implement the
nationwide educational initiative Our New School. Under one of the
amendments, a total of 34 billion roubles will go to develop the motorway
networks and repair motorways in Russian cities. A separate budgetary
provision will allocate 5 billion roubles to develop motorways in rural
areas. Extra money will be allocated to the republic of Mordovia to
finance festivities on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Mordovia'
s integration into the Russian state.
The 2011 budget key parameters are as follows: incomes are planned at
8.8 trillion roubles (or 17.6 percent of the GDP), expenditures - at 10.6
trillion roubles. Thus, the budgetary deficit will be 1.8 trillion roubles
(3.6 percent of the GDP), which is less than in the current year (5.3
percent). The government plans to cover the deficit mainly through public
loans on the domestic financial market and through proceeds after the sale
of federal property. Apart from this, its is planned to issue bonds on
international financial markets to the overall amount of seven billion
U.S. dollars a year within the next three years.
Under the draft budget, inflation in 2011 will not exceed 6.5 percent,
the rouble exchange rate will be 30.5 roubles per one U.S. dollar. The GDP
will be 50,389 billion roubles. Oil prices are forecasted at the level of
75 U.S. dollars per barrel (the same figure as in the 2010 budget).
A total of 4.7 trillion roubles will be allocated to finance pensions.
From February 1, 2011, retirement pensions will be increased by 8 percent
to reach an average of 8,800 roubles (or by 8.5 percent up against the
current average pension). Child allowances will also be increased, as will
be maternity capital that will reach 365,800 roubles against the current
343,700 roubles. Service pay to the military, scholarships and birth
grants will also go up.
-0-ras