Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 27 November (BelTA) – The European Union is confident that the Twinning project will be successfully implemented in Belarus, BelTA learned from Martin Dinkelborg, the project’s supervisor on the part of the European Union.

“As far as I can see, our project is being implemented on schedule and is moving in the right direction. If its realization continues at the same pace, we will be able to finish it by mid-2019 and celebrate the success of our first experience of such interaction,” said Martin Dinkelborg. He thanked the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus (NBRB) for the excellent organization of all events as part of the project. He also mentioned outstanding professional skills of the bank’s personnel and the Belarusian side’s dedication to implementing the project.

Financed by the European Union, the Twinning project offers a platform for a dialogue and the development of joint decisions, which are topical for Belarus’ central bank and central banks of European Union member states. It represents the first experience of cooperation between Belarus and the European Union within the framework of the Twinning initiative, which provides for sharing the best practices between government agencies in the form of direct contacts between their employees and specialists. Belarus’ central bank is the first government agency to avail itself of the opportunities the initiative offers since it became available to Belarus in 2016.

The project was developed bearing in mind many years of Belarus’ central bank’s relations with the central banks of Germany, Poland, and Lithuania. The relations have acquired a new quality: the three banks became a consortium of central banks implementing the project on behalf of the European Union while the team of the project’s experts has been expanded with specialists from the central banks and financial regulating agencies of other countries of the European Union: Estonia, Romania, Austria, and France. A total of about 100 experts from the European Union take part in the project.

The dialogue between the European Union and Belarus’ central bank is mainly manifested as expert missions, training seminars, educational visits, and expert forums. Since the project was launched, the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus has welcomed over 30 expert missions. Two educational trips to the central banks of Germany and Poland have been arranged as well as two expert forums. The expanding professional contacts of NBRB specialists on a permanent long-term basis represent one of the most important results of the project.

The European Union’s Twinning project to strengthen the potential of the National Bank of the Republic of Belarus is being implemented by Belarus’ central bank together with a consortium of European banks – the German Federal Bank, the National Bank of Poland and the Bank of Lithuania in 2018-2019. The partner banks will share their best practices, promote the introduction of modern methods and procedures in the work of Belarus’ central bank. The project’s budget is €1.15 million.