There were some events with the participation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine leadership.

Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii met with Head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Bundestag Norbert Rottgen, President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly Elisabeth Guigou, and Head of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Polish Sejm Grzegorz Schetyna.

During the meeting, Parubii informed foreign colleagues about the situation with the introduction of reforms in Ukraine, corruption counteraction, and implementation of the Minsk agreements, and stressed that there is a hope for rapid and effective reforms provided the presence of active communication and cooperation with the new government.

Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii met with United States' Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland.

At the meeting the sides discussed issues of bilateral cooperation and interaction as well as reforms taking place in Ukraine.

Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii took part in the solemn flower-laying ceremony to the Memorial Mound to hero liquidators of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster consequences on the territory of the Saint Archangel Michael church of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate and to the monument to Soldiers of Chornobyl on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the Chornobyl NPP disaster.

Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii took part in a meeting of the USAID RADA Program, dedicated to the reforming of the Ukrainian parliament.

Among the priority decisions, the parliament shall approve in the near future, Parubii called the approval of draft laws required for further cooperation with the IMF, as the stability of our economy, reforming of the judiciary and the army, and strengthening of the security and defense depend on it.

First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Iryna Heraschenko, being in the composition of the Ukrainian delegation in the European Parliament in Brussels, reported on the beginning of the third sitting of the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee. In her speech she disclosed the plans of the Verkhovna Rada concerning the implementation of the Association Agreement.

Several events took place in the parliamentary committees.

In particular, the Committee on Construction, Urban Development, Housing and Communal Services held a round table entitled "State housing policy: problems and prospects."

Participants of the round table discussed the necessity of bringing housing standards into line with the requirements of Article 47 of the Constitution of Ukraine, and making principal amendments to the existing Housing Code of the Ukrainian SSR (1983) and the Housing Concept of Ukraine (1995).

The Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government approved the Clarification concerning application of certain provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Civil Service" touching the procedure of registration of loss of civil servant status by certain categories of public employees.

The Committee on State Building, Regional Policy and Local Self-Government discussed the issue of elaboration of the concept of reforming and developing the award system of Ukraine and concerning legislative regulation of the procedure for the use and description of the state symbols of Ukraine.

The Committee on Corruption Prevention and Counteraction declared certain draft laws complying with the requirements of the anti-corruption legislation.

In particular, the Committee declared complying with the requirements of the anti-corruption legislation, the draft law "On amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine" (concerning clarification of certain provisions).

Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopko met with Heads of the Committees on Foreign Affairs of the parliaments of the Weimar Triangle countries. At the meeting, Hanna Hopko informed colleagues on the situation with and prospects of the implementation of internal reforms, paying particular attention to the European integration.

Hanna Hopko also took part in the Second Cultural Diplomacy Forum of Ukraine, organized by the Kennan Institute and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. The event took place in Kyiv.

The central topic of the Forum was interaction of the state and the civil society in the promotion of Ukrainian culture and positive image of Ukraine abroad.

The Committee on National Security and Defense has considered proposals of the President of Ukraine concerning the approved Law of Ukraine "On amendments to the Law "On state defense order," and recommends to approve the law and take the proposals into account.

The Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety jointly with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held a round table entitled "Energy subsidies in Ukraine and first results of the reform."

The round table participants reached a consensus that energy conservation should be an integral part of the state policy of subsidizing and also agreed that the Committee on Fuel and Energy Complex, Nuclear Policy and Nuclear Safety can become not only a platform for further work of interested parties on the issue of energy subsidies reform, but it can also ensure control function of the parliament, will strengthen effective operation of central executive power bodies in this area.

Chairperson of the Committee on Human Rights, National Minorities and Interethnic Relations Hryhorii Nemyria during the third sitting of the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee in Brussels, pointed to the importance of respecting the rights and freedoms of internally displaced persons in Ukraine, as well as elaborating the strategy and state policy in this area.

Deputy Chairperson of the Committee on Legal Policy and Justice Serhii Alekseyev took part in a round table dedicated to Ukraine, which was attended by members of the House of Lords and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

Chairperson of the Committee on Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship Viktor Halasiuk took part in the II National Forum for supporting exports and delivered an address at the third sitting of the Ukrainian part of the EU-Ukraine Parliamentary Association Committee in Brussels.

The Committee on Public Health held a round table entitled "Palliative care for children: the right to health care and pain relief."

The main purpose of the event was to draw attention of the authorities and the society to the urgent problems of the functioning in Ukraine of such an important branch of the health protection system as palliative care. The participants discussed future steps for the development of this kind of health care for children.