LAWS AND INITIATIVES
Parliament passes the Law "On peculiarities of the use of St Andrew's Church, within the National preserve "Sophia of Kyiv".
The law No. 9208, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on October 18, 2018, specifies the modalities of use of the church, aiming to henceforth allow the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s divine service in Ukraine and to uphold the people’s right to freedom of worship.
Through the law, the church is handed over to the said patriarchate free of charge for sustained use with the aim to conduct divine service, religious exercises, ceremonies and the like.
According to the law, "the use of St. Andrew's Church by the Ecumenical Patriarchate is carried out in compliance with the legislation on the protection of local cultural heritage. The modalities of handover are to be interpreted in concordance with the law of Ukraine “On freedom of worship and religious organizations”.
Parliament adopts the Law "On amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine as to responsibility for illegal crossing of the state border".
The law No. 7017, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on October 18, 2018, supplements the code with the Article 332 [2] “Illegal crossing of state border”, providing for criminal liability for illegal crossing of Ukraine’s border by a person with citizenship of an aggressor country, or by another person in favour of the aggressor state’s interests that go against Ukraine’s national interests, committed in whatever way beyond the border checkpoints, or through the checkpoints without due documents or with documents that contain misinformation.
Such offences shall be penalized by a three-year incarceration. Once the same is committed repeatedly or in groups, it shall then be penalized by three to five years of incarceration. Once again, if the crimes mentioned are perpetrated with the use of weapons, the punishment shall be extended for up to five to eight years of incarceration.
Parliament votes for the Law "On amendments to certain legislative enactments of Ukraine regarding the rail transport enterprises whose property lies in the area of repulse and deterrence against aggression of the Russian Federation in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, and in the area of anti-terrorist operation”.
The Parliament passed the law No. 9069 on October 18, 2018. The law specifies the territory of temporary debt standstill over PAT “Ukrzaliznytsia”’s assets for rail transport enterprises’ liabilities whose property lies in the above-mentioned areas.
The said changes shall be introduced in the laws of Ukraine “On peculiarities of formation of a common railway carrier stock corporation” and “On enforcement proceedings”.
Parliament adopts the Law “On amendments to the National programme for the decommissioning of the Chornobyl NPP and the transformation of the Shelter object into an environmentally safe system”.
The bill No. 6624, which was adopted by the Parliament on October 16, 2018, alters the above-mentioned programme, signed in 2009, by extending its run of validity until 2020. In accordance with the National programme, the decommissioning is carried out in 4 stages:
1. Shutdown (preparatory stage for decommissioning, lasted from 2000 until 2015). The stage during which nuclear fuel was removed and transported to the Spent Fuel Storage Facility designed for long-term storage.
2. Final shutdown and preservation of reactor installations (current stage, from 2015 approximately till 2028). The tasks of this stage are as follows:
• Bringing the ChNPP Units to a state that excludes the possibility of using them for power generation.
• Removal of ionizing radiation sources that are subject to control from Power Units.
• Preservation of reactors and the most radioactively contaminated equipment.
3. Safe enclosure of reactor installations for the period during which radioactive contamination should be naturally decreased to the acceptable level (roughly till 2045)
4. Dismantling of reactor installations. During this stage, the equipment will be dismantled and the site will be cleaned to ensure maximum release from restrictions and regulatory control (approximately until 2065).
The law also assigns some UAH 2.96 billion to finance the programme at the expense of the state budget.
TOP NEWS
Parliament's speaker calls restoration of Ecumenical Patriarch’s stauropegion in Kyiv to be “a historic step”
"This is a historic step! The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has decided to restore the Ecumenical Patriarch’s Stauropegion in Kyiv," – the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy made a wide comment about the adoption of the draft bill No. 9208 "On peculiarities of the usage of the St Andrew's Church of the National preserve "Sophia of Kyiv"
A.Parubiy reminded that on October 11 the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate had decided to restore the stauropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Kyiv.
According to him, "by this decision, the Verkhovna Rada restores the Stauropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Kyiv, and the St Andrew’s Church on the Andriyivskyy uzviz (Andrew’s Descent) in Kyiv will be a new stauropegion, serving as a residence of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I as well as the representation of the Ecumenical Constantinople Church".
A.Parubiy stressed that "those who say in the public eye that we hand over our state property to the Ecumenical Patriarchate are cunning by doing so, thus contributing to disseminate the Russian informational "playbooks".
"The St Andrew’s Church remains the property of the state. But now we are restoring historical justice and returning the Stauropegion of the Mother Church-Ecumenical Patriarchate in Kyiv. There is no inter-church conflict here," he explained.
This initiative was supported by all the hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate, the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church and even, in part, by the Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine, willing to support the Unified Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church.
A.Parubiy called on parliamentarians-patriots and statesmen to support this decision and return the representation of the Ecumenical Patriarch to Kyiv.
According to the Speaker, "this is one of the fundamental steps towards the creation of the One or Unified Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church in Ukraine and the receipt of the Tomos of Autocephaly".
A.Parubiy congratulated all the Ukrainian people and His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I on this historic decision.
Chairman A.Parubiy: EP synodal autocephaly decision constitutes one of the biggest landmarks in Ukraine’s history
On October 11 the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate had decided to restore the stauropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Kyiv.
The synodal decision announces the commencement of the process of granting of the ecclesiastical status of autocephaly to the Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church.
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy sincerely hopes that the All-Ukrainian Orthodox Synod will take place in Kyiv in the immediate future, in which all the Hierarchs-patriots of Ukraine are to participate, shall proclaim the formation of the Unified Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church.
A. Parubiy is convinced that after the unifying council in Kyiv, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I shall confer the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Primate of the Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church.
On October 11 the Ecumenical Patriarchate had sanctioned such historical resolutions as recognition of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate and the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church, the idea of reestablishing the Stavropegion of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Kyiv, yet the first and foremost being the cancellation of the Synodal “Act” or “Letter of Issue” dated June, 1686.
“Ukrainian statesmen, the clergy and laity of Ukraine, everyone in their place and their field, all have done considerable to finally win out the One Local Orthodox Ukrainian Church,” stressed A. Parubiy.
A.Parubiy meets NATO PA President R. Jukneviciene to tighten mutual ties
On October 18, during his meeting with the NATO PA President, the Chairperson of the Ukrainian Parliament A.Parubiy congratulated Rasa Jukneviciene on taking the office recently. He recalled how "desperate and strong was Mrs. Jukneviciene's support for Ukraine" during her tenure at various positions. A.Parubiy emphasized that the strong support from the NATO PA is very important for Ukraine at present "since this is one of the key priorities of Ukraine’s foreign policy".
"Several years ago we did set this priority legislatively," he said. – And, it was a few weeks ago, as we started the process of constitutionalizing Ukraine’s accession to NATO". According to the Speaker, "it is very important that nobody has ever been able to revise this direction of Ukraine’s foreign policy. And the respective altering Ukraine’s constitution does guarantee such irreversibility”.
The decision to hold a NATO PA meeting in 2020 in Kyiv was called to be “a great honour".
A.Parubiy then stressed that Ukraine has been single-mindedly adapting it is Ukrainian legislation as well as it is armed forces to the standards of NATO.
He reminded that last June was adopted the Law of Ukraine "On National security" serving as a framework that defines the general structure of reforming the entire security sector. The head of the parliament also informed that a sizeable cluster of other security laws is near completion, including liberalization of the entire defense industry and trade, creation of a parliamentary intelligence committee, and a law on reforming the SBU and intelligence agencies.
Andriy Parubiy also described the current situation in Ukraine, stressing that Ukrainian soldiers defend European values, fighting day by day against the danger and aggression in all spheres.
First vice-speaker urges CE parliamentarians to forbear from reinstating Russia at PACE
As part of the Permanent parliamentary delegation to PACE, the First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Herashchenko took part on October 9 in the fourth-part session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France.
Iryna Herashchenko reminded that the resolution demanding Oleh Sentsov’s release had been adopted in 2015, while the Russian Federation kept ignoring that requirement all the time. “Oleh Sentsov is still in bonds, being at the very breaking point, yet the Russian authorities keep setting at naught any effort aimed at releasing the prisoners and captives. Until now, this aggressive state-like mass has not de-occupied the Crimea, has not vacated the Donbas, has not admitted its involvement in the downing the Boeing MH17, has not stopped aiding the Assad’s regime, still scornfully refusing its Salisbury stunts,” pointed out Iryna Herashchenko.
The First Vice-Speaker noted that the Russian Federation continues to apply methods of hybrid warfare, yet interfering in electoral processes in Germany, France and the United States.
Iryna Herashchenko also stressed that the financial reason for the Russian return seems to be inappropriate. The politician reminded that Ukraine had, despite its economic difficulties, voluntarily allocated some extra USD 400 thousand for the CE’s budget, thus visually proclaiming that "for Ukraine, principles over gold".
"The Ukrainian delegation stands firmly against the Assembly’s rights derogation and destruction of its authority. We shall vote against the resolution proposed and call upon all participants not to defeat the fundamental principles of the Council of Europe and to refrain from making decisions that would allow the Russian delegation to return to the Assembly without fulfilling its all commitments in force," I. Herashchenko stated.
USAID facilitates dialogue between political parties and civil sector on political finance
On October 18, the IFES Ukraine jointly with NDI and USAID’s RADA Program with the support of the USAID and the UK aid, organized the forum "Our Money in Elections". Approximately 100 participants MPs, representatives of Central Election Commission, international experts, civil society organizations and media participated.
Ann Hopper, a Deputy Director of the USAID Democracy and Governance Office, said that Ukraine has been successful in law-making by adopting the Law on Preventing and Combating Political Corruption, which is one of the most progressive for political financing in Europe.
The participants of the event discussed key challenges in the field of financing elections in Ukraine, as well as further steps to be taken by various stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of the reform of political finance before upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections in Ukraine.
USAID supports openness and accountability of the Ukrainian Parliament
On October 9, the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, together with the USAID RADA Program organized a meeting with Christa Markwalder, a Swiss politician, former Speaker of the National Council and current member of the Foreign Policy Commission, entitled "Principles of trust to the Parliament".
The purpose of the meeting was an exchange of best practices of the openness and accountability of the parliament and MPs, direct democracy and citizen engagement as well as building a consensus between political parliamentary factions.
This event involved MPs, the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and representatives of the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat. The discussion defined actions for the implementation of the Communication Strategy of the Parliament for 2017-2021 and the Strategy of E-Parliamentarism for 2018-2020, which aim at increasing parliamentary openness and transparency.
USAID supports independent research service establishment in the Ukrainian Parliament
On October 9, the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, jointly with the USAID RADA Program organized a workshop with Dr. Peter Grunenfelder “The role of policy analysis in the legislative process”.
Grunenfelder runs Avenir Suisse, an independent think tank that works for the future of Switzerland by developing evidence-based, liberal, free-market ideas.
Approximately 50 participants representatives of the Judicial Department of the Ukrainian parliament, Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat, civil society organization and research centers participated in the event. Participants discussed the principle of operation of modern think tanks and laid the foundation for the creation of a research service in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.