PARLIAMENTARY NEWS

On May 31, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine fired the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, addressed UNESCO to exclude russia from its members,

and proposed Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council impose personal sanctions on Vladimir Gundyayev (Patriarch Kirill of Moscow) and several other leading figures of the Russian Orthodox Church.

It also supported the national business by providing benefits to alcohol producers (Law no. 7401), regulating audit activities in wartime (Law no. 7347), and easing bureaucratic procedures on the registration of agricultural machinery (Law no. 6070-1).

Moreover, Ukraine’s Parliament allocated UAH 287 billion as additional expenses for the army and social support for victims of war (Law no. 7413). The Parliament also adopted a legal basis for establishing the National Military Memorial (Law no. 4225) and allowed the usage of confiscated money to buy war bonds (Law no. 7342).

A number of draft laws were adopted in the first reading: supporting volunteers’ organizations (draft laws nos. 7363 and 7364), prolonging contracts with school principals and other aspects of the educational process in wartime (draft law 7325), providing journalists that work in hostilities areas with personal security means (draft law no. 7367), and creating conditions for the comprehensive thermal modernization of buildings (draft law no. 6485).

VRU Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk: the position of Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz is a key to obtaining candidate status.

During his recent meeting with Olaf Scholz on May 3, Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of Ukraine’s Parliament, stated that establishing a working dialogue between Ukraine and Germany, and rapprochement between Germans and Ukrainians was a key task of his visit to Germany. Yesterday's meetings with colleagues from the Bundestag demonstrated a high level of support for Ukraine. "I have the impression that Ukraine unites even political opponents in Germany. We also appreciate personal stories of assistance", Ruslan Stefanchuk said. The Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament also stressed that the purpose of his visit was to receive full support from Germany in granting Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership. In this regard, the position of the German Federal Chancellor is a key one.

"I would like to hear it from you directly and clearly. I would like to hear words of hope for all Ukrainians: “I support granting Ukraine EU candidate status to signal to all the people of Ukraine that their struggle is not in vain and that they can work on criteria to obtain full membership” Ruslan Stefanchuk mentioned.

Besides, according to him, Ukraine’s military already needs modern air defense systems in order to secure a quick victory for Ukraine. Ruslan Stefanchuk also informed that he invited Mr. Scholz to visit Ukraine and address Ukraine’s Parliament.

VRU Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk: plenary meetings will be open to the public when the security agencies allow.

In her recent interview with Radio Free Liberty, Olena Kondratiuk mentioned that the Parliament leadership is interested in conducting open plenary sessions, but until security situations and respective suggestions from the intelligence and Ukraine's security service do not allow to hold meetings in person, the Parliament will not inform about the plenary meetings in real-time. At the same time, speaking about remote voting, she claimed that on February 24, MPs decided to remain in Kyiv. “Our armed forces do not fight online; thus, the Parliament will not hold meetings online. We work offline, considering security issues”, she noted.

Draft law on clearing debts for property destroyed in hostilities will be introduced in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

On June 5, Danylo Hetmantsev, Chairman of VRU’s Committee on Financial, Tax and Custom Policy, informed about the preparation of the draft law on writing off debts for property destroyed in hostilities. He admitted that the draft law was being developed on the initiative of the President of Ukraine and its text had been already agreed upon with the Prime Minister and the Head of the National Bank of Ukraine. The registration of the draft in Parliament is expected this week.

Moldovan border police detained Ukraine’s MP Yevhen Yakovenko at the request of Belarus.

The Moldovan Border Guard Service notes that the Ukrainian deputy was brought by Belarus to the Interpol search base. They clarify there - he is accused of bribery and corruption. He was elected as an MP from Batkivshchyna political party, but then became a non-affiliated MP.

On June 8, VRU Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk addressed the European Parliament to back Ukraine’s candidate status to join the EU and continue imposing sanctions against russia.

Following the press conference with European Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola, Ruslan Stefanchuk declared a speech at the plenary meeting of the European Parliament. In his speech, Mr. Stefanchuk touched upon the issue of bringing to justice those responsible for the war.

“We will talk about the responsibility before humanity and the future. We would like to bring to justice those who started the war and rebuild this with their own money, what was damaged”, he mentioned.

According to him, more than 14 mln of Ukrainians were forced to leave their houses. He thanked every country that had opened not just its doors but also its hearts to Ukrainians. At the same time, he stressed that it is essential to hear the message from Europe that Ukraine’s fight makes sense and the EU observes our fight. “Otherwise, putin will get this message that means he can go further”, he mentioned. According to Stefanchuk, Ukraine understands that candidate status is the first step, but Ukraine is ready to work further promptly. He also appealed to MEPs in order not to lift sanctions against russia.

The “Opposition Bloc” political party is officially banned in Ukraine.

According to the Chesno movement, which deals with political parties and their transparency, the political party was banned by the administrative court in Lviv. According to the court decision, the property of the party and all its branches are transferred to the state. But the decision itself can be appealed to the Supreme Court. Due to the fact that the court hearing was not open to the public, the exact reasons for banning the party could be discovered after the complete court decision was published.

PROGRAM NEWS

For 13 weeks, USAID RADA: Next Generation Program has been assisting Ukraine’s Parliament in its external communication within the Communication Task Force of the VRU Secretariat,

mainly through narrative development and info production for social media, both in English and Ukraine daily. The program’s team disseminated two issues of the information digest “Parliaments on the Frontline,” including the English language version and the Ukrainian one. English-language digest “Parliaments on the Frontline” has been sent to 18 900 members of foreign parliaments. On May 30, USAID RADA: Next Generation Program, drafted the plan on cooperation with the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada on Energy, Housing and Utilities Services, as the Committee has been preliminarily selected as a Model one. MPs and Program discussed support in organizing committee hearings, assistance in building partnerships and cooperation with Poland’s Sejm.

On May 31 - June 2, USAID RADA: Next Generation Program conducted three training sessions on the Legislative process in VRU upon a request from the VRU Secretariat.

30 members of the VRU Secretariat obtained knowledge of the stages of legislation preparation and its adoption within the Ukrainian parliament, as well as became acquainted with the VRU Rules of Procedure.

On June, 1 The Parliamentary Education Center conducted a massive all-Ukrainian forum on the Occasion of Children’s Day, which gathered MPs, VRU First Deputy Speaker, Minister of Education, USAID representatives and youth.

The event has been broadcasted via YouTube on the RADA TV channel and received more than 1 080 views. RANG Program developed 21 visual materials dedicated to the abovementioned forum, which were disseminated via VRU’s pages on social media as well as the pages of The Parliamentary Education Center.

30 high-school students attended the meeting in person and more than 50 students from all regions of Ukraine joined online. They discussed how their rights could be ensured during martial law.

• Oleksandr Korniyenko, VRU First Deputy Speaker, welcomed school students’ active participation in the youth movement and emphasized that international norms on children’s rights are being tested in russia’s war against Ukraine. Together with Serhiy Babak, the Chair of the parliamentary committee in education, he also noted that Parliament would upgrade the legislation to ensure children’s rights, as the current convocation of the Verkhovna Rada is the youngest in history and it understands the significance of the youth in Ukraine.
• Serhiy Shkarlet, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, took note of those Ukrainian children who suffered from russia’s aggression, particularly those who were wounded and died due to russia’s aggression. He acknowledged that academic achievements are children’s weapons to fight for Ukraine’s future.
• Marc Ellingstad, Director of the Office of Democracy and Governance in USAID Mission to Ukraine and Belarus, noted in his online address to the meeting that protecting children’s rights, lives, and health and ensuring their access to education is the highest priority for the state, especially given the challenges of wartime. Also, he stressed that Ukraine’s Parliament had used all means of parliamentary diplomacy to ensure Ukraine’s children’s rights and save their lives.

“It is important that children move forward with their education process”, he said. He noted that the Parliamentary Education Center remains effective and conducts various events during wartime. Mr. Ellingstad underlined that USAID had been supporting the Center from the very beginning through its parliamentary projects, and the Agency would continue to extend such support through the USAID RADA: Next Generation Program.

On June 3, the Program drafted the plan on cooperation with the chair of the Secretariat at the VRU’s Committee on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development, Anzhela Maliuha.

The meeting was focused on joint activities, potential RANG’s support in organizing committee hearings, post-legislative scrutiny of the law on administrative services, communication assistance, and assistance with the draft law on parliamentary service.

The Program assisted MPs in their communication with voters by providing brief overviews of the law adopted during wartime.

The Program provided explanations of adopted laws and published them online. In particular, USAID Rada: Next Generation Program provided explanations for the following laws: #2260 on the determination of the rent for the use of subsoil for gas production during the period of martial law and #2261 on taxes regulation under martial law.

The Program prepared info briefs on several topics on

the European convention for the protection and promotion of languages used by traditional minorities’ on the MPs’ Nataly Pipa request, InfoBrief “The educational process of higher education institutions during martial law in Ukraine”. Info Briefs are a part of the RANG's efforts to advocate for the establishment of the parliamentary research service.

Ukraine’s National recovery plan will contain most of USAID Rada: Next Generation Program’s proposals.

The final version of the plan was presented on June 7, developed by the sub-working group on parliamentary reform, under the National recovery council, of which RANG is a part. In particular, the national plan includes RANG’s suggestions like establishing the parliamentary research service, the law drafting office, training center, drafting the сommunication strategy for the Parliament and developing the comprehensive E-Parliament Strategy, which includes developing necessary IT tools, adopting the law on public consultations.

UPCOMING EVENTS

On June 16, 5 pm Kyiv time, 10 am Washington, DC time, RANG will conduct a webinar in cooperation with the Law department of Pennsylvania State University to present features of the VRU’s operation during martial law.

During the meeting, Olha Sovhyria MP, representative of the Verkhovna Rada in the Constitutional Court, Servant of the People faction, and Artem Yanchuk, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat will be the key speakers of the event. The meeting will be available via the following link: bit.ly/3MTJzRe