Dear newly elected people’s deputies and guests of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine!

According to article 16 of the Rules of Procedure of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, its Chairperson should provide the newly elected Parliament with information on the results of legislative work of the Parliament of the previous convocation during the first plenary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada. Each of you was provided with informational and analytical material on the main trends of legislative work of the Parliament of the seventh convocation. For my part, I would like to sum up the work of the Parliament that became a historic past today.    

The Verkhovna Rada of the seventh convocation has become the third Parliament in the Ukrainian history that terminated its work early due to the unanimous backup of the decision on early elections by the society. 

The Parliament of the seventh convocation was composed of diametrical oppositions: on the one hand, during 2012-2013 it was a part of Yanukovych’s regime, its support and backup; on the other hand, a strong European opposition crystallized out, the one authorized by Maidan to return the country to the path of development and transformations, to the path of the rule of law and democratic Europe.  

In fact, these were two different Parliaments – the Verkhovna Rada prior to Maidan and after Maidan. Flagrant support of dictatorship laws of Yanukovych was the apogee of decisions of the first stage of parliamentary activity. Pre-Maidan Parliament jointly with Yanukovych & Co. and the whole vertical of his executive power was pushing the country into abyss. With every day Ukraine was becoming more similar to an authoritarian country where total lawlessness, disregard for human life and rightlessness predominate. The resources were stolen, budget was absorbed by clans, credits were moved offshore, and strategic enterprises were illegally privatized or made bankrupt.

Striving for unlimited authority, in his “legislative” proposals Yanukovych has gone far beyond the limits of the version of the Constitution that the judges of the Constitutional Court, violating their oath, have obligingly restored for him. There was an onslaught on democratic principles of state government. Having forgotten about its constitutional duties, pro-presidential parliamentary majority has with the wave of one hand “yielded” parliamentary powers to the President, thus promoting usurpation of power. Things came to such a pitch that even the draft budget was to be formed only on the basis of annual messages of Yanukovych. Thereat, the role of the Verkhovna Rada, as country’s highest legislative body, and the authority of parliamentary committees as an important link of legislative process were reduced to zero.       

The victory of the Revolution of Dignity at the end of February this year, has initiated a new stage in the history of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the seventh convocation. The threat of deplorable Russian aggression against our country has crossed out peaceful life of Ukraine and Ukrainians, and thus has changed the very essence and political face of the Verkhovna Rada. After the escape of Yanukovych and ruination of the old pyramid of government, the Parliament remained the only legitimate body of central authority in the country.   

During the supersophisticated political and legal, as well as socio-economic situation, the Verkhovna Rada managed to assume all the responsibility for the state of affairs in the country; formed a new parliamentary majority and a new Government; and adopted the badly needed legislative acts, thus ensuring country’s vitality and a nation-wide confrontation to insidious military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. It was the Parliament that guaranteed a stable transition of authority in the country, as well as holding of democratic elections of the President of Ukraine, recognized by the civilized world.    

Under the circumstances of practically open war, brought about by regular troops of the Russian Federation, the Parliament took the decision on continuity of its work in order to secure the ability of momentous legislative reaction to the developments and general situation in the country. Efficient army was restored in Ukraine. There were established the National Guard and volunteer MIA battalions of special purpose that stopped the enemy and liberated part of our land, occupied by Russian terrorist troops. We are enormously grateful to the defenders of Ukraine, and primarily the volunteers who did not wait for conscription but started fighting for our country. Eternal glory to the heroes who rendered their lives for freedom, territorial integrity and unity of our country!     

One can state that by working in the epicenter of intense political processes, the post-Maidan Parliament has managed to demonstrate stable and effective work. In comparison with the previous sessions, the Verkhovna Rada started working a lot more fruitfully.  

Thus, despite of the short time period, the Verkhovna Rada of the seventh convocation will go down in history as a Parliament of great challenges and transformations in the Ukrainian statehood.

Restoration of the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine that were illegally abolished under the pressure of Yanukovych is one of the most important decisions of the reshaped Parliament. Such decision of the Parliament was adopted at the demand of Ukrainian people by the constitutional majority (306 votes), which secured a return to the parliamentary-presidential form of government. Together with the restoration of the Constitution of Ukraine, the dictatorship laws, falsified at the demand of Yanukovych’s regime, were revoked.        

In extremely short time period, Ukrainian people got rid of the authority crawling into the state of dictatorship, and due to the Revolution of Dignity, Ukrainians won their right to free democratic development and a guaranteed acceleration on the way to European integration. 

Generally, for the period of two years of its cadency, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine scrutinized 1 915 draft laws, 371 of which were adopted in entirety as the laws.

I would like to mark out especially seminal laws from among the great number of legislative acts adopted for the period of the two latter sessions. 

Particularly, this is the package of bills adopted in connection with the necessity to protect the country against Russian intervention. The Parliament has promptly amended the State Budget for the current year, having significantly increased funding of country’s protection. It has adopted the package of laws that secured the work of law-enforcement bodies and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, there was adopted the Law of Ukraine “On the National Guard of Ukraine”, as well as several laws regulating the issue of social protection of ATO participants and their families.   

Among not less important legislative achievements of the Verkhovna Rada are the laws: on fulfillment of the Action Plan on Visa Liberalization with the European Union; on reforming state anti-corruption policy; and on reforming higher education, etc.

I shall separately mention the laws of Ukraine adopted by the Parliament that regulate state social policy, particularly, regarding protection of the rights of disabled and the status of war veterans, etc.

The package of anti-crisis laws was adopted, which allowed the Government to prevent default in Ukraine. There was adopted the law on state procurement, as well as the laws securing Ukraine’s transition to the European standards. 

The Verkhovna Rada has also adopted several laws that regulate relations in the sphere of economic activity.

The Ukrainian community was demanding adoption of a high-profile Law “On Public Television and Radio Broadcasting” for 10 years. Finally, it was approved in April, this year, which opens new opportunities for democratization of the Ukrainian society. 

The Parliament of the seventh convocation has also adopted the laws on amnesty of political prisoners and restoration of rights of Crimean Tatars, and has secured the work of the Cabinet of Ministers under the conditions of resuming the Constitution.

It is worth mentioning the adopted package of laws that ensures fighting corruption, as well as the laws of Ukraine “On restoration of trust into the court system of Ukraine” and “On Lustration” that determine the process of lustration of officials and personnel of the law-enforcement agencies who promoted usurpation of power and undermining of the fundamentals of Ukraine’s national security and defense, or violation of the rights and freedoms of a human. Finally, the Parliament of the seventh convocation has adopted the European law on the prosecutor’s office, adoption of which was Ukraine’s commitment to the Council of Europe since 1995.  

Synchronic ratification of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement on September 16, 2014 with the European Parliament was strategic and crucial for the country. This is a true breakthrough in our life and simultaneously an enormous responsibility for the new Government and Parliament who are obliged to fill the process of Ukraine’s European integration with real significance. Our country should become equal among free democratic European countries, so that we could jointly develop in the common European home.    

Dear people’s deputies!

The elections to the Verkhovna Rada on October 26 gave patriotic and pro-European political forces a carte blanche for reforming, modernization and democratic development of Ukraine. I am convinced that the lessons of these elections will determine the general direction and activity of the newly elected Parliament.

At the same time, unfortunately, parliamentary elections, in comparison with the latter presidential, failed to be a step ahead. Again there were attempts to falsify election results and bribe voters. In the run up to elections, the Parliament made amendments to the Criminal Code of Ukraine regarding strengthening responsibility for violation of citizens’ electoral rights. That is why it is extremely important that those who tried to illegally influence the expression of will of our citizens were imposed with condign punishment. The issue of new electoral legislation, free of rudiments of the old criminal clan system, should be urgent and priority one for the new Verkhovna Rada.   

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the eighth convocation should become an important divide line between the post-Soviet past and the European future. It should be worth of our citizens who paid with their lives for freedom, democracy and territorial integrity of our country. The new Parliament has to secure all the necessary socio-economic changes in the country, as well as establishment of a powerful military potential. It should establish conditions for liberation of the invaded territories.

A new professional Government, able to work under extremely complicated conditions in the country against which a war is conducted, should be formed within the shortest possible time.

Such phenomena as voting for other people’s deputies or uncontrollable populism in actions and words should vanish forever from the work of the newly elected Parliament. Optional attendance of the session hall, that from time to time reminded of a half empty cinema, should also become a past. There should be a standing room only each plenary day from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. People chose each of us so that we persistently worked in the name of the Great Ukraine. This should be proven daily by our work in the Verkhovna Rada. 

Generally, the revolutionary expediency in the law-making activity should also be left in the past. It is understandable that though the practice of adopting separate bills as a basis and in entirety was justified by the dangerous challenges the country was facing and by the necessity to quickly react to the situation, it could not ensure proper quality of the laws. Thus, the newly elected Parliament should in full involve the rules of procedure and legislative procedures aimed to secure proper adoption of qualitative laws, demanded by the society. This is an indispensable condition on the way of Ukraine’s advancement to a truly legal state.

The quality of the entire legislative process will depend already on the first decisions of the newly elected Parliament. First of all it goes about a well-balanced approach to organization of work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – determining the list of committees and the scope of their activity, as well as forming the agenda, etc.

Today, the Parliament faces an extremely responsible mission filled not only with hope but also with great responsibility for the country. We can write down a qualitatively new, meaningful page in the history of Ukrainian law-making by becoming a responsible Parliament that will secure protection of the state, and people and will turn Ukraine into a strong European state.

Let us be decent of the will and trust of the Ukrainian people. May God keep Ukraine!

Glory to Ukraine!