Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman had a meeting with President of the Storting [the Parliament] of the Kingdom of Norway Olemic Thommessen.
The Parties discussed prospects of Norway's assistance in the reformation of the Ukrainian Parliament.
Groysman informed that within the framework of implementation of the Action Plan presented by the Needs Assessment Mission of the European Parliament headed by Pat Cox, the Verkhovna Rada is facing the task of practical embodiment of the prepared proposals touching the reformation of the Ukrainian Parliament.
During the meeting, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada noted that following the presentation of the Action Plan, the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament will shift to the second phase — the phase of its implementation. Thus, he requested a mandate for the Mr. Cox's Mission for a new term to render further technical implementation of the Plan. Groysman says that at present a decision touching further cooperation between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the European Parliament is being expected.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada thanked European partners for their understanding of the necessity for assistance in the implementation of that Plan.
Groysman informed that the Report of the Needs Assessment Mission of the European Parliament contained 52 clear recommendations aimed at raising efficiency of the Verkhovna Rada. Among the most important proposals there are: enhancement of parliamentary control, provision of cooperation between the Parliament and the Government, regulation of cooperation between the coalition and the opposition, settlement of the issue of deputy ethics and responsibility, lawmaking "spam," optimization of the number of parliamentary committees, etc.
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada expressed confidence that the reform launches the revival of the institutional capacity in the country. "The reformation of the Verkhovna Rada is destined not only to improve the way of management and work of the Ukrainian Parliament, but also to trigger the changes in other institutions. It is impossible to fulfill new tasks with old tools," Groysman said.
Groysman noted that the internal reform in the Verkhovna Rada managed to unite all political forces and expressed his optimism as to the prospects of its further implementation.
In turn, Mr. Thommessen assured of Norway's readiness to continue cooperation with Ukraine and assistance in implementation of reforms. The President of the Storting also assured of the readiness of his country to exchange experience in functioning of the Norwegian Parliament within the framework of the internal reform in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.