The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy opened the session.
Opening the morning session, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine A.Parubiy reminded the audience that on April 5, 1710, the first Pylyp Orlyk Constitution had been adopted, having triggered by so doing the process of creation of the Ukrainian Constitution.
The Speaker also said that two bills on the parliamentary reform were on the current agenda.
Members of Parliament got down to consideration of the agenda issues.
Rada’s Nord Stream appeal: Draft resolution No.8111
The Parliament’s resolution "On appeal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the international community on the inadmissibility of construction of the North Stream 2 gas pipeline and the Russian Federation’s monopoly on the gas markets of the world" was adopted.
Through the paper Rada admits that Gazprom’s endeavours to launch the Nord Stream 2 shall land Gazprom’s all-out monopoly down on the European gas market. In this case, Gazprom will have an overwhelming control over the volume and price of the entire gas market in continental Europe, as well as a mighty tool for refusal to supply gas to Central European countries.
Thus, the aftermath of the project goes far beyond the limits of just commerce or internal affairs of the EU countries, and will lead to an energy crisis, economic and political destabilization of Europe as a whole.
The Verkhovna Rada has commissioned the Cabinet of Ministers to urgently hold consultations between the Government of Ukraine and the European Commission on preventing construction of the gas line.
The output of the session
S e c o n d reading bills taken
On Foreign Service: Draft bill No.7322
The enactment defines the legal principles as well as the organizational policies and procedures of the Foreign Service which is an integral part of the civil service, as well as the peculiarities of the service and the legal status of its officers.
The law specifies the conceptual framework for legislative recognition of the working peculiarities of the Foreign (Diplomatic) Service, the entry procedure, the policies and procedures of the service and its termination, the categorization of diplomatic positions, taking into account the requirements and standards of the civil service, the establishment of a contractual form of the Foreign Service, the definition of rotation.
The law regulates remuneration to the diplomatic service officers, peculiarities of wage payments to Ukrainian diplomats working abroad, compensation payments, social and medical support for the Foreign Service employees. The law also runs that the diplomats will be steadily professionalized through increasing training and/or raising required qualifications, including language skills inside and outside of Ukraine.
F i r s t reading bill taken
Reg of religious organizations: Draft bill No.6642
Taken on the first reading was the bill amending the law of Ukraine on state registration of legal entities, individual entrepreneurs and public organizations with regard to legal paperwork for religious organizations.
The bill is aimed to ease the paperwork through cutting off unnecessary notarizations when filing religious organization updates for state registration.
The draft bill is also to exempt religious organizations from the administration fee for state registration of changes to the Unified State Register.
On distribution of committee posts: Draft bill No.7550
Taken on the first reading was the bill amending some laws of Ukraine on allocation of committee seats under the D’Hondt method. The draft law proposes to change the procedure for redistribution of positions for committee heads, their first deputies, deputies, secretaries and members of parliamentary committees. The method requires that the posts be redistributed among the factions sequentially, one by one.
As per the bill, a committee liable for the rules of procedure is solely in charge of reporting on the quotas of factional representation.
A score of committees for 9th convocation Rada: Draft bill No.6256
On the first reading, there was adopted the draft law amending the laws of Ukraine "On committees of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine" and "On central executive bodies" in order to streamline the work of the committees of the Parliament, and to balance out the ratio of the committees' terms of reference to the remits of the ministries".
For Rada of its ninth convocation, the bill only offers twenty committees to be instituted, taking into account the remits of the ministries.
On national security: Draft bill No.8068
On the first reading, there was taken the bill on national security.
The bill proposes to define the managerial mechanisms in the area of national security and defense, to regulate the structure and composition of the security and defense sector, its management system, coordination and interaction between its structural bodies, to implement a comprehensive approach to planning in the field of national security and defense in order to ensure a stable and effective civil democratic control over the bodies and units of the security and defense sector.
Section II establishes the legal framework and the principles of state policy in the field of national security and defense, fundamental national interests of Ukraine, including ensuring state sovereignty and territorial integrity, integration of Ukraine into the European political, economic, legal space, membership in the European Union and in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Section III defines the principles and mechanisms of the civil democratic control, legislative, executive and judicial powers to exercise such control, including local self-government bodies and civil society.
Section IV defines the composition of the security and defense sector and the legal status of the main bodies forming the structure of the sector, as well as management and coordination in the field of national security.
Section V regulates planning in the field of national security and defense, defines the main documents of the long-term planning and their use in the medium-term and short-term planning.
The bill has been adopted taking into account the proposals of the Parliament’s Committee on national security and defense, which suggested to supplement the bill with the following items:
a list of Ukraine's national interests and threats to Ukraine's national security, sources and factors affecting their occurrence,
a series of new important definitions,
a provision on limiting the scope of public control exclusively by the norms of the law of Ukraine “On state secrets”,
bringing the provisions of the draft law in line with the Constitution of Ukraine and align them with the provisions of other laws of Ukraine in order to avoid duplication of legal norms and emergence of collisions therein.
Novelty in customs control: Draft bill No.7010
On the first reading, there was taken the bill amending the Customs Code of Ukraine and a series of other laws of Ukraine regarding introduction of the ‘single-window’ system and streamlining the control procedure when transiting goods across the custom border of Ukraine.
The bill launches the ‘single-window’ tool which provides for a one-time electronic submission through a single information web portal by a customs applicant of a set of harmonized information in order to comply with requirements for the movement of goods, vehicles through the customs border of Ukraine, provided by the Code, other laws of Ukraine, international agreements of Ukraine.
The bill binds the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine to launch, run, keep and administer a unified state web portal “Single window for international trade”.
The presiding officer closed the meeting.