The event was held in cooperation with Migration service of International Charitable Foundation "Caritas Ukraine".
Opening the round table meeting, its initiator, Chairperson of the subcommittee on labour migrants and national and cultural cooperation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on European Integration Oleh Pankevych claimed that according to expert estimates at least 2 mln. Ukrainians live abroad, and only 500 thousand of them are registered in electoral lists. Moreover, he stated that only 70 thousand Ukrainians abroad participated in the latest presidential elections.
Participants of the round table meeting discussed main problems of organizing the elections abroad during the latest presidential elections and ways of ensuring electoral rights of Ukrainian citizens abroad during the future parliamentary elections.
Commenting on the results of the discussion, Oleh Pankevych said that "separate problems of implementing electoral rights of Ukrainians abroad can be resolved within the current legislation. Now we have an opportunity to open additional polling stations in Rome, Milan, and Prague. However, this requires close cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the Central Election Commission. Nonetheless, amendments shall be made to electoral legislation in order to settle these problems".
Participants of the meeting claimed the need for adopting amendments to electoral legislation on creating additional polling stations in countries with a considerable number of Ukrainians. Legislative amendments shall decrease a possibility for violations, in the Russian Federation as well.
Participants of the round table meeting adopted a resolution with an address to the people's deputies to uphold the bill "On amendments to legislative acts of Ukraine re ensuring electoral rights of Ukrainian citizens abroad" (Reg. No. 4595), the authors of which are Oleh Pankevych, Iryna Sekh, Oleh Bondarchuk, Valerii Patskan, and Mykhailo Khmil. Moreover, the participants addressed the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine with a request to continue their work on eliminating obstacles for Ukrainians citizens to be able to vote abroad.
People's deputies – authors of the bill "On amendments to legislative acts of Ukraine re ensuring electoral rights of Ukrainian citizens abroad", representatives of the Central Election Commission, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, migration organizations of Ukrainians in Italy, Spain, and Germany, as well as leading experts in the field of electoral law participated in the meeting.