The participants in the meeting were Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Parubiy; First Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Heraschenko; members of the Ukrainian Parliament / members of the Ukraine-EU Parliamentary Association Committee headed by co-chair Mykola Kniazhytskyi; members of the European Parliament headed by Chair of the Delegation to the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee, Andrej Plenkovic; representatives of the Ukrainian Government and representatives of EU executive institutions.

Opening the first working meeting of the Committee, Andriy Parubiy noted that that the role of the Ukrainian and EU parliaments is particularly important both for the effective implementation of the Ukraine - European Union Association Agreement and for active and quality legislative support for internal reforms in Ukraine based on the advanced European experience and EU law. He stressed that the Parliamentary Association Committee should become a mechanism of democratic control over the proper implementation of the Association Agreement, facilitate generation of new ideas and initiatives to speed up Ukraine's integration with the EU on the principles of political association and economic unification.

The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada emphasized that over two years of its operation, the Committee has shown particular efficiency and started to play substantial political role both in Ukraine and in Brussels.

Besides, Andriy Parubiy noted that the Ukrainian Parliament adopted one of the most perfect anticorruption acts in Europe and added that implementation of these acts is permanently controlled by the Parliament. The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada stressed that the judicial reform has becomes a revolutionary change for the Ukrainian judicial system.

Parubiy reminded that Ukraine has already launched a fundamental reform of the civil service. He said the process will take some time however, the grounds envisioned in the legislation let talking about fundamental changes in the field of state management.

"We have positive results in the financial and economic stabilization in the country," the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada said.

Mr. Plenkovic said this was his last visit to Kyiv on the post of a co-chair of the Ukraine-EU Parliamentary Association Committee. He said that together with the Ukrainian Parliament much progress has been achieved and the Verkhovna Rada was picked by the European Parliament for participation in the program on modernization of the Ukraine legislature.

He noted that soon, the European Parliament will vote for visa-free regime. Possible future Prime Minister of Croatia assured he would fight for the interests of Ukraine in the Council of Europe.
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