Verkhovna Rada makes several decisions during May 8-9 plenary sessions
At the plenary sessions, MPs approved the following legislation:
European integration will span from Sevastopol to Kyiv, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration says
On May 10, the Verkhovna Rada conducted an hour of questions to the government, during which Olha Stefanishyna, Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, briefed the MPs. Stefanishyna highlighted that the decision to commence negotiations with EU leaders and heads of European institutions will be reached by consensus following the European Parliament elections at the end of June this year. She affirmed that Ukraine has fulfilled all its obligations to initiate negotiations at the negotiation and technical levels. Since the application for EU membership and commitments were made collectively by the government, Parliament, and the President, the negotiation process will be conducted jointly with an officially formed delegation.
USAID RADA: Next Generation assists Verkhovna Rada in reopening for journalists to enhance parliamentary transparency
Thanks to a USAID RADA: Next Generation initiative, on May 8, 22 journalists from 11 leading Ukrainian media worked within the parliament building for the first time since the beginning of martial law in 2022. This step followed a series of formal and informal Program-initiated meetings held by parliamentary leadership and the journalists to discuss Parliament's decision to reopen to the media. With USAID RADA: Next Generation guidance, the State Security Service of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada's press service established a new accreditation system to allow journalists to cover Parliament on-site. The Program supported the VRU Committee on Freedom of Speech in organizing roundtables on journalistic ethics and practices during wartime. Program experts developed an analytical report on international experiences in accrediting parliamentary journalists, which was useful in creating a system for re-accrediting Ukrainian media and a corresponding security protocol. VRU Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, Head of the VRU Secretariat, Vyacheslav Shtuchnyi, and Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the Head of the Freedom of Speech Committee, backed the reopening of the Parliament to journalists. Yaroslav Yurchyshyn credited USAID RADA: Next Generation for its key role in this process. The VRU leadership provided safety briefings to journalists. According to new rules, up to 30 persons representing accredited media outlets will be permitted to work in the parliamentary press center. The press center was designed with Program support. Also, the journalists decided to form a self-governing organization that would coordinate the accreditation and work processes in Parliament. USAID RADA: Next Generation supports this organization to ensure journalists have a structured and practical framework for their activities within the Verkhovna Rada.
Nearly 50,000 participants join Program's online lesson dedicated to Europe Day
On May 9, the Parliamentary Education Center (PEC), with USAID RADA: Next Generation support, hosted an online lesson to celebrate Europe Day, focusing on the European Union. Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Olena Kondratiuk, opened the event with a speech, followed by a video address from Oleksandr Korniyenko, the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada. Participants were treated to interesting facts about the European Union, including its founding history, the differences between the Eurozone and the Schengen Zone, and the EU's symbols and core values. The event attracted approximately 50,000 participants. A quiz was held at the end of the lesson, and five winners were awarded PEC merchandise as prizes.
USAID RADA: Next Generation facilitates parliamentary education for youth: more than 500 children participate in "We are Lawmakers!" game
On May 10, the Agency for Educational Policy Development (AEDP), with Program support, conducted the Forum of Children Democracy. The event aimed to present and discuss "M18: We Are Lawmakers!", the All-Ukrainian simulation game on modeling the legislative process. In total, more than 500 children in grades 7-11 from different parts of Ukraine, including frontline cities, simulated the process of the work of the VRU Committees. The young people, with MP’s guidance, created three committees (anti-corruption policy, budget and economic development, national health, medical care, and health insurance, and education, science, and innovation). Collectively, they drafted 39 bills.
USAID RADA: Next Generation helps to improve cooperation between local government and Parliament in times of war On May 10 in Kovel, Volyn Oblast, the Program subgrantee, Volyn Regional Branch of the Association of Ukrainian Cities, organized a hands-on session for 25 local government officials and members of the public titled "Effective Cooperation between Local Communities and MPs: Volyn in Action." During the session, participants from 16 communities discussed how to foster partnerships and cooperation between local communities and MPs and the nuances of local government interaction with the national Parliament during martial law. MP Stepan Ivakhiv and his assistants joined the event.