NO MORE SAINT GEORGE RIBBON IN UKRAINE
A bill, which bans production and propaganda of St. George (Guards) ribbons, imposing administrative responsibility for the offenders, has been adopted by the Verkhovna Rada. St. George’s ribbon, widely associated in Russia with the Great Patriotic War, since 2014 became a symbol of Russian aggression against Ukraine. A public demonstration of this ribbon is considered inadmissible.
FOODS QUALITY CHECK
A law on state control of foodstuff, forage, animal by-products, animals’ health and welfare was adopted. It stipulates legal and organizational grounds of state control over the respective markets, including export-import of the mentioned goods.
The bill also regulates the jurisdiction of the central executive authorities to shape and implement the food safety policy in Ukraine.
The law corresponds to the respective EU regulations, therefore, gives a green light for the export of Ukrainian goods to the EU in increased quotas.
“SAVCHENKO LAW” REVOKED
The amendment to the Criminal Code was adopted. It changed the rules for calculation of the detention term to “one equals one.” Previously, one day of pre-trial detention was counted as two days of prison confinement (the so-called “Savchenko Law”). This regulation has been withdrawn due to its negative impact on the criminogenic situation in the country.
BETTER INFORMATION ACCESS FOR THE MILITARY
A newly-adopted law allows the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and regional administrations of Donetsk and Luhansk regions to set up printed media outlets. This measure will ensure that the military involved in the anti-terrorist operation (ATO) gets improved access to information.
ACCESSIBLE HIGHER EDUCATION IN UKRAINE FOR RESIDENTS OF THE OCCUPIED TERRITORIES
The law “On Education” in respect of the right to higher education for persons, residing in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, has been amended. This amendment allows getting access to higher education in Ukraine not only for the children from the occupied territories in the East Ukraine, but also the children from the annexed Crimea.
The law obliges all higher educational institutions of the 4 oblasts in the East and South of Ukraine to accept those residing in the occupied territories only with general secondary education certificates unlike the rest of applicants who have to submit results of external tests along with the secondary education certificates. Applicants from temporarily occupied territories are accepted based on a separate competition and there is a quota of 1000 government scholarships for them.
MP STRIPPED OF A MANDATE
A mandate of the member of the Parliament, Andriy Artemenko (originally elected as a member of the Oleh Liashko Radical Party), was terminated as the President of Ukraine deprived him of his Ukrainian citizenship. MP Artemenko had two citizenships - Canadian and Ukrainian. According to the Ukrainian legislation, double citizenship is prohibited.