Ukraine’s Parliament adopted several laws on resolutions on June 28, 29
On June 28, The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the following: Resolutions:
appeal of the VRU to the participants of the NATO Summit in Vilnius (Republic of Lithuania) on July 11, 2023 (#9430). appeal of the VRU to the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the EU, the OSCE, NATO, the Council of Europe and their parliamentary assemblies on preventing a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, and countering nuclear blackmail of the Russian Federation (#9429)
Laws in the second reading:
additional monthly payments (from 30 to 100 thousand hryvnias) for armed forces in proportion to the time spent on special missions (#9342) permission for armed forces to use vehicles with the right-hand drive during the period of martial law (#9238) changes in the use of funds from the State Regional Development Fund, including the selection of projects by voting through Diia (#9165)
On June 29, The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted:
Resolutions:
withdrawal from the agreement on the single economic area (#0205) ratification of the Agreement between Ukraine and the EU on the participation of Ukraine in the Program for cooperation in the customs sphere (#0198) ratification of the agreement between Ukraine and the EU regarding Ukraine's participation in the program for cooperation in the field of taxation "Fiscalis" (#0203) ratification of the - Agreement between Ukraine and the EU and Ukraine regarding Ukraine’s participation in “Single market” (#0207)
In the first reading:
the order of importation, the shape and form of humanitarian assistance (# 9111) Law on the state regulation of flowers sphere (#8340) amendments to the Budget Code regarding the security of the budgetary policy and the strengthening of the budgetary stability (#9346-1e) providing certain categories of IDPs with additional guarantees to prevent their forced eviction from housing for temporary residence during the period of martial law (#9310) settlement of some issues of implementation of state support for orphans and children deprived of parental care at the end of educational institutions (#9100) improvement of the provisions of the current legislation in terms of criminal liability for committing military criminal offenses related to violations of the rules of operation of combat or special vehicles, flight performance (#9325)
In the second reading:
amending the usage of the state fund for regional development (#9165) regarding the verification of information about patients (#9272) simplification of conditions for the production of distillates by small business entities (#5762) improvement of defense resource management procedures (#8187) electronic excise stamp for alcoholic beverages and tobacco products (#8287) annual financial assistance for the recovery of a child of war of preschool and school age (#9042-1) - amendments to the Air Code of Ukraine regarding aviation activities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (#9258)
On June 30, 2023 Ukraine’s parliament adopted several laws:
In the first reading:
proposed to provide for the exemption from import duty/VAT of operations involving the importation into the customs territory of Ukraine of marine search and rescue vessels, equipment and equipment for them imported for use exclusively as search and rescue units, in accordance with international treaties of Ukraine in the field of protection of human life at sea. (#8139-d, 8176)
In the second reading:
amended some laws of Ukraine regarding the restoration and green transformation of Ukraine's energy system. The document will promote the development of renewable electricity on a competitive basis and create the prerequisites for a deeper integration of "green" generation into the power system and the electricity market (#9011-е)
amended the Tax Code of Ukraine and other laws of Ukraine regarding the peculiarities of taxation during the period of martial law (#8401)
USAID RADA: Next Generation (RANG) presented its key achievements in strengthening Ukraine-UK interparliamentary cooperation at the Ukraine Recovery Conference Parliamentary Side Event.
On June 21, RANG COP Igor Kogut participated in the parliamentary side event of the Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023, hosted by the All Party Parliamentary Group on Ukraine, with support from the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) and the British Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. He presented USAID RANG activities, particularly how RANG played a crucial role in supporting the Ukrainian parliament in supporting Ukraine’s parliament EU integration initiatives and assisting the VRU in implementing the best practices of the UK Parliament. The participants included Ukrainian and British MPs, as well as civil society representatives, and the discussion provided a platform for parliamentarians to discuss issues related to Ukraine’s recovery, the role of democratic parliaments, and how institutions can work together.
Program helped Ukrainian MPS present the strategic foresight study "Scenarios: Ukraine-2040" at the Ukraine Recovery Conference in London. On June 21, Ukrainian MPs, Viktoriia Podhorna, Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi, co-chairs of the VRU Inter-faction parliamentary group “Strategic Foresight,” presented their research in the UK Parliament results of the strategic study "Scenarios: Ukraine-2040" which was conducted together with Inter-party parliamentary group "For Future Generations" in the Parliament of Great Britain. The research will help strengthen VRU's analytical and oversight capacities and processes to ensure an end-to-end legislative process.
USAID RADA: Next Generation Activity (RANG) conducted training for trainers on parliamentary ethics on June 21-23.
Twelve experts improved their skills in the basics of parliamentary ethics, implementation of best domestic and international practices regarding the Codes of conduct for parliaments, and ethical standards for parliamentarians. RANG will pilot the training for MPs, their teams, and VRU Secretariat in July.
Program grantees held two events highlighting VRU's role in Ukraine’s restoration.
On June 20, 2023, the Active Community NGO arranged an online event in Kropyvnytskyi regarding how citizens interact with VRU in terms of communication and how these steps help strengthen trust between VRU and citizens. 70 Participants had the opportunity to model the ideal MP and his/her qualities. On June 21, 2023, the Active Community NGO facilitated a similar event in Poltava, gathering more than 60 civil society activists, students, and NGO members. They got a chance to test approaching MPs in writing and discussed the most effective ways of communication between the MP and voters.
RANG assisted the VRU’s Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights in holding public consultations on social dialogue in Ukraine.
On June 22, during the public consultations organized under the cooperation of RANG and the VRU’s Committee on Social Policy, the following issues were discussed: resetting the current model of social dialogue in Ukraine, including through the involvement of civil society representatives; European models of social dialogue and prospects for implementing the European best practices in Ukraine; changing approaches to defining the representative parties to the social dialogue based on the established criteria. MPs, Representatives of ministries and other central executive authorities, the VRU Commissioner for Human Rights, trade unions and employers’ organizations, mass media, academic institutions, and NGOs joined the event. The video recording of the event can be viewed via the link.
USAID RADA: Next Generation (RANG) arranged a discussion on parliamentary democracy.
On June 29, USAID Rada: Next Generation held a round table dedicated to the Day of the Constitution of Ukraine and the International Day of Parliamentarism to highlight the role of the parliament in Ukraine’s democratic future. Participants discussed the key issues related to the topic: how democratic institutions and processes respond to full-scale war, parliament, presidency, elections, courts, media, and civil society, implementation of democratic reforms during the war, the ways civil society organizations and international partners contribute to the preservation of democracy during the war. The event was a platform for discussion among stakeholders (parliament, civil society organizations and think tanks, and international partners) on how to preserve democratic institutions and sustain democratic processes during and after the full-scale war. During the round table, civil society experts presented the results of the studies "Overview of democratic institutions of Ukraine during the War" and "Parliament during the war".
Program presented the results of the implementation Post-Legislative Scrutiny (PLS) pilot with three VRU Committees.
On June 29, USAID RADA: Next Generation, together with its partner, Westminster Foundation for Democracy, arranged the discussion to highlight the importance of the VRU Committees’ capacities and PLS methodology in it. Participants discussed the PLS methodology, the Committees’ experience in implementing PLS pilot projects, and the prospects for using PLS procedures in the future during the parliamentary control implementation. VRU Committees on social policy, energy, and state building shared their experiences with 15 members of the VRU Committees on human rights, national security, defense and Intelligence, economic development, and anti-corruption policy, humanitarian policy.
RANG report on Ukraine’s mass media helped VRU Committee on Social Policy helped identify key stakeholders.
Program produced the analytical report on Ukraine’s mass media rating in 2023 for the VRU Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans' Rights. Before that, RANG prepared recommendations on media coverage for the VRU Committee on Social Policy. The document analyzes trends in the development of Ukraine’s mass media and guides with the list of popular foreign, national, and regional Ukrainian media. The analytical report provides the VRU Committee on Social Policy recommendations on cooperation with mass media in order to highlight the Committee’s activities and to attract potential stakeholders.
RANG arranged the study visit to the UK Parliament for the VRU Secretariat to include best practices in VRU.
On June 26-28, Program facilitated a study trip to the UK Parliament of O. Kostyniuk, Head of the Parliamentary Education Center (PEC), L. Herasymenko, Deputy Head of the PEC, and T. Stefiuk, Head of the Secretariat of the VRU First Deputy Speaker. The VRU Secretariat member got acquainted with the UK Parliament Teacher Ambassador Programme, which includes a 3-day residential training course at the Houses of Parliament. The participants had an opportunity to get experience from the British MPs and the UK Parliament’s member staff on the issue of the evaluation of their students and colleagues’ knowledge about the UK Parliament and the possibilities to be engaged in the activities organized in the British Parliament. Following the study visit results, the PEC plans to establish a program of Parliamentary Ambassadors in Ukraine.