|
A GDP growth of 6.4 percent in Russia in 2004 is realistic, Economy Minister German Gref told reporters on Tuesday. “We have greater ambitions, but we always have to adjust them to reality,” he noted. A GDP growth of 6.4 percent in 2004 is envisaged in the program for Russia’s economic development in the medium term. According to the Federal Service of State Statistics, the Russian GDP grew 7.3 percent in 2003.
All of Russia’s economic problems connected with the EU expansion would be solved over the next two weeks, Mr. Gref said. The so-called ‘Kaliningrad transit’ issue is the only unsettled problem, but, according to Mr. Gref, “there is understanding between Russia and the EU” in this respect.
Ten countries - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia – will join the European Union on May 1, 2004. Earlier, the Economy Minister said Russia could lose up to $150m a year as a result of the EU expansion
|
RUSSIA IN FACTS
