Andriy Parubiy: “The national security law does not just reform the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the whole security sector in line with NATO and EU standards; it is also a crucial step towards Ukraine’s NATO integration.”

Information Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat
12 February 2018, 13:58

The Verkhovna Rada Chairman has said that “this spring will be dominated by security and development issues, with security and defence remaining our top priority.” He mentioned that the large-scale and essential law on national security, already adopted by the National Security and Defence Council (RNBO) and soon to be submitted to the Verkhovna Rada for review, is among the highest priorities. “Security laws will remain within the prerogative, as we live in a country where we have to fight Russian aggression, and this is something we should always remember, especially in Parliament,” he said.

The Chairman stated that along with key priorities, there are a number of economic laws Ukraine needs to adopt in order to cooperate with the European Union. Parubiy said that he and the Prime Minister of Ukraine “agreed to work even more actively, drawing up plans and a list of primary issues for the session and developing a roadmap of laws needed for the European integration.”

According to Parubiy, “this document will be agreed upon, and step by step, several laws will be put on the agenda each week, so that Ukraine could move towards the Association Agreement implementation, as well as cooperation with the EU, in a more active and efficient way.”

Parubiy has said that concluding meetings are scheduled for next week, where the plan will be adopted by the Verkhovna Rada Committees, Ministries, the Chairman and the Prime Minister. “Same way as 35 key laws on economic development, two of which were adopted last Tuesday,” he noted.

“Here cooperation is vitally important at both committee and ministerial level,” the Chairman emphasized, adding that he does his best to facilitate the cooperation.