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Opinion: Agreement on pensions is vital for free movement of workforce

Iya Malkina

MINSK, 29 March (BelTA) - Aide to the Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Iya Malkina spoke about the pension agreement between the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), as well as about the plans for the production of vaccines against COVID-19 in an interview to the STV channel, BelTA has learned.

An agreement on pensions for workers of the Eurasian Economic Union entered into force on 1 January 2021. The document defines the procedure and mechanism of pension export from one state of the union to another, and provides for summing up the length of service in the EAEU states to determine eligibility for pension.

“For example, starting from 2021 a Belarusian citizen, having worked in Russia for several years, will be able to claim a pension for this period if he applies for it in Belarus. It does not matter at all where in the union a person claims to receive a pension. It is crucial that all periods of work, directly performed by a citizen in any of the EAEU member states, are included in the length of service for pension accrual,” said Iya Malkina.

The issue related to medical examination of workers, if they claim to receive a disability pension, has been regulated as well.

“In fact, this agreement implements one of the priorities of Eurasian economic integration, which is the freedom of movement of people. We expect that in the future it will largely help us to attract to one of the EAEU states the most qualified specialists who are in demand at a certain period of time from the other EAEU member states. Of course, this is not the only step that should be taken in order to open the borders for the movement of people, but it is a necessary one,” she said.

Iya Malkina also touched upon the topic of joint production of COVID-19 vaccines by the EAEU countries. “Today, the production of vaccines against coronavirus is one of the most discussed topics, which could not but be touched upon by the EAEU heads of state as well. Not only bilateral cooperation (in particular, production of vaccines in Belarus) is promoted in this context. Within the framework of our Union, the Eurasian Development Bank is actively involved in financing projects for joint production of vaccines. The other EAEU member states are discussing the prospects of vaccine production on their territories. We understand that this is not only a necessity but also a very interesting area of mutually beneficial cooperation,” she explained.

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