On December 27 the Board of the Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEC)’s Anti-crisis Fund postponed by at least six months the disbursement of the final installment of the economic bloc’s $3-billion stabilization loan for Belarus because of the country’s failure to meet some terms attached to the loan.
Belarus had failed to meet 10 of the 14 targets set by the Anti-crisis Fund for the country this past June, Sergei Shatalov, the Russian deputy chairman of the Board, told news agency BelaPAN.
According to the official, some of the targets have not been met because of external factors, namely Russia’s slower economic growth, stiffer competition linked to Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization and a slump in world potash prices.
At the same time, the Belarusian government’s policies contributed to credit and wage growth contrary to its commitments, he said. Mr Shatalov described the Anti-crisis Fund’s decision as ‘logical’ and said that Minsk needed time to meet the targets.
The first, $800-million tranche of the loan was made available to Belarus in June 2011. Another portion, $440 million, was provided in late December 2011. Belarus received the third tranche in mid-June 2012, the fourth one in January 2013 and the fifth one in April.
www.belsat.eu/en, following BelaPAN
