AN EXTRAORDINARY PLENARY MEETING OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE WAS HELD ON FRIDAY, 4 SEPTEMBER
Mykola Tomenko, Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, opened the plenary meeting after a short delay.
The Chairman informed about the registered initiative of 152 People´s Deputies that complied with the requirements of Part 2, Clause 83 of the Constitution of Ukraine concerning holding of an extraordinary plenary meeting.
The People´s Deputies started to scrutinize the issues of the agenda. Serhiy Tryhubenko, Vice-Minister of the Environmental Protection, presented the Bill on Ratification of the Protocol on Protection and Permanent Use of Biological and Landscape Variety to the Framework Convention on Protection and Permanent Use of the Carpathians, signed in Kyiv on 22 May 2003. The Protocol is an integral part of the Carpathian Convention ratified by The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in 2004. Its ratification is a logical step aimed at the implementation of the Carpathian Convention. The ratification is preconditioned by the necessity to unite the efforts aimed at suspension of the degradation of biological and landscape variety of the Carpathians, inexhaustible use of natural resources.
The Verkhovna Rada ratified the Protocol on Protection and Permanent Use of Biological and Landscape Variety to the Framework Convention on Protection and Permanent Use of the Carpathians signed in Kyiv on 22 May 2003 by 256 votes.
The Parliament members scrutinized the Bill on Amendments to the Law "On Service at the Local Self-Government Bodies". The Bill was adopted in its entirety as a law by 249 votes.
Oleksandr Shlapak, First Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine, presented the President´s motions to the Law "On Amendments to the Budget Code of Ukraine".
Oleh Liashko, Deputy Head of the Committee on Budget, stated that the Committee planned to hold the sitting to scrutinize the President´s motions on Tuesday, 8 September, and addressed the Chairman with a request to postpone the scrutiny of the issue.
The People´s Deputies upheld the request.
Then the Parliament members scrutinized the Bill on Amendments to Clause 20 of the Land Code of Ukraine. The Bill was rejected (31 votes).
Two Factions, the Party of Regions and the CPU, insisted that the recess be announced and the Conciliative Council be held.
The Chairman announced the recess, during which the representatives of the Party of Regions blocked the Presidium and the lectern.
Mykola Tomenko, Vice-Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, informed about the results of the Conciliative Council. Thus, the representatives of the Party of Regions, initiators of the recess, informed about their stand, i.e. the demand that The Verkhovna Rada adopted the Bill on the Social Standards. If The Verkhovna Rada failed to adopt the Bill, they would object to the scrutiny of other Bills envisaged by the agenda.
According to M.Tomenko, as only the Communist Party endorsed the proposal of the Party of Regions and three Factions objected to it, there was no majority to scrutinize the Bill suggested by the Party of Regions.
Three Factions suggested that the Party of Regions continued to scrutinize the Bill appertaining to the local self-government. However, the initiators of the recess and the blocking did not endorse the proposal.
M.Tomenko informed about the agreement, according to which, every Faction and the Government delegated their representatives to the working group to coordinate the Bills on the Social Standards. The Working group is to meet on Monday, 7 September.
The Chairman expressed his hopes that the participants of the upcoming meeting will reach a compromise concerning the said Bills. Then the extraordinary plenary meeting was closed.
The next plenary meeting of the Fifth Session of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Sixth Convocation will be held on Tuesday, 8 September.