On Tuesday, 19 November 2019, Ukrainian Parliament hosted the meeting of the Steering Committee of the EU-UNDP Parliamentary Reform Project that approved the workplan of the Parliamentary Reform Office.
The aim of the project and the PRO is to strengthen the activities of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its oversight functions, accountability and transparency in the implementation of its constitutional functions.
The participants of the meetings focused on key project components such as:
· strengthening the role of the Parliament in the reform process in Ukraine focusing on the improvement of the legislative process and parliamentary oversight;
· support for professional upgrade of the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat;
· ensuring transparency, accountability and communication between the Parliament and citizens through new communication technologies and parliamentary education.
The Head of the VRU Secretariat Viacheslav Shtuchnyi thanked the European Union and UNDP for their support to the Ukrainian Parliament and noted that the Secretariat is ready for cooperation with the international institutions and the PRO engaged in the parliamentary reform.
"Time requires rapid and effective action that will improve not only the effectiveness of the Secretariat, but also the Parliament as a whole,” he stressed, adding that the Secretariat is ready for reform and open to cooperation. In addition, Vyacheslav Stuchnyi emphasized that in the near future, it is planned to develop and adopt a draft law on parliamentary public service that will set the framework for a quality reform of the VRU Secretariat.
According to the Head of Operations, Section 1, of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine Martin Klaucke, the Verkhovna Rada should become more efficient, transparent and accountable in performing its constitutional functions – law making, oversight and representation, and provide contribution to Ukraine’s implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. Martin Klauke also noted that a lot of analytical work has been completed to assess the needs of Ukrainian Parliament, and certain steps have been taken in response. He also assured of continued support from the EU institutions and said he was looking forward to seeing the results of the reform as soon as possible. “The Verkhovna Rada plays a leading role in the implementation of reforms. Therefore, the European Union welcomes the cooperation that is taking place within the project and the transformations that will help the VRU Secretariat become more efficient,” the representative of the EU Delegation to Ukraine highlighted.
UNDP Deputy Resident Representative to Ukraine Manal Fouani noted that the political situation in the country has changed completely since the project started, including the early elections and the new convocation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, representing new opportunities for transformations. She added that the project could be proud of the well-established cooperation with the Parliament of Ukraine and stressed that in the context of extraordinary workload in terms of the legislative activities the MPs have to deal with, it was extremely important to improve internal administrative processes. “It will help optimize the legislative process – thus, it is high time for the reform, especially in terms of digitizing the process," she said, adding that the capacity to work with new technologies is crucial for the Secretariat.
Project Coordinator a.i. Olena Kulikovska presented key achievements of the project since February 2019. The team has completed significant preparatory work – carrying out a series of assessments to identify the needs of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its Secretariat and, most importantly, to set up the Parliamentary Reform Office, which functions as an advisory group to the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its Secretariat. This work is a continuation of the assistance provided by UNDP under the Roadmap developed in 2015 and the follow-up of Rada for Europe project.
Olena Kulikovskaya informed that on 25-27 November, the events to present the accomplishments of the Parliamentary Reform Office – namely, on legislative planning, implementation of best practices of human rights management strategies, reform of the Secretariat and communication tools – would be presented.
The Head of the Parliamentary Reform Office Yevheniia Piddubna presented to the Steering Committee members the PRO workplan until the end of 2020. The workplan envisages that an international company will soon carry out a functional audit of the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat and provide recommendations for improving its internal processes. Experts from the Parliamentary Reform Office will assist in the development of an updated HR strategy, drafting a law on parliamentary public service, and developing of a concept for a parliamentary education programme, as well as helping introduce digital tools in the legislative process.
According to her, improvement of the legislative process requires strengthening of parliamentary oversight and introducing new practices of cooperation and coordination between the legislative and executive bodies. The most critical priority in this regard is developing the concept of an updated Rules of Procedure of the VRU.
Introducing new HR management practices to improve the organizational structure and build capacity of the Secretariat involves setting up a training center at the Verkhovna Rada, developing a training policy, introducing international experience of HR management, Code of Ethics for the Secretariat staff, quality assurance and gender mainstreaming in the activities of the Secretariat staff, etc.
Yet another important area of ??the project is implementation of the e-Parliament Strategy to enhance parliamentary communications and civic education. Yevheniia Piddubna paid special attention to the need to engage the public in the legislative process in specific areas, to improve the process of accreditation of media representatives and to cooperate with them, and to set up a high-tech press center. “A unified communications department, a strategic level of SMM planning, social media work are all tools to better report the Parliament’s activities to wider public,” she said. The ambitious plan is to extend parliamentary education to the media, foreign guests, adult audience, etc. “It is an action plan aimed at the openness of the Parliament and citizen engagement in the legislative process,” Yevheniia Piddubna emphasized.
Deputy Head of the Office, Head of the Main Legal Department Mykhailo Tepliuk appreciated the results of the PRO activities and suggested that the Verkhovna Rada committees should be instructed to submit proposals on draft laws to be implemented next year by 20 December. It will help better plan the legislative activities for 2020. He also called to approve the PRO workplan as a basis.
Following the meeting, members of the Steering Committee, comprising representatives of all three stakeholders – the EU Delegation, UNDP in Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada – approved the workplan of the Parliamentary Reform Office.
For reference: The project is based on the support that United Nations Development Programme and the European Union have been providing for several years to strengthen Ukrainian Parliament, including the achievements of the EU-UNDP Rada for Europe project (2016-2018).
The project is implemented taking into account the recommendations of the European Parliament Needs Assessment Mission of the Verkhovna Rada (2015-2016) and the respective Resolution of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine “On Measures to Implement the Recommendations on Internal Reform and Strengthen Institutional Capacity of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.”
To provide more targeted support to the Parliament’s reform process, the Parliamentary Reform Office (PRO) has been set up within the project, which acts as an advisory group to the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada and its Secretariat under the overall leadership of the Verkhovna Rada Chairperson.
The Parliamentary Reform Project consists of the following components:
Component 1, #Rada4Reforms, aimed at strengthening the Parliament’s role in the overall reform process, with an emphasis on improving the legislative process and parliamentary oversight.
Component 2, #RadaPro, provides support for a professional upgrade of the VRU Secretariat by finalizing and implementing the strategic development plan and the integrated development of human resources.
Component 3, #Transparent&Service-OrientedRada, aims at enhancing transparency, accountability and communication between parliament and citizens through the use of new communication technologies, civic education, and citizen engagement.
