AN EXTRAORDINARY PLENARY MEETING OF THE VERKHOVNA RADA OF UKRAINE WAS HELD ON WEDNESDAY, 13 JANUARY
Oleksandr Lavrynovych, First Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, declared the plenary meeting open. He stated that A.Kozhemiakin, leader of the BYuT Faction, had addressed him before the meeting with a request to announce a recess to hold the Conciliative Council of the Deputy Factions.
O. Lavrynovych reminded that the Standing Orders did not presuppose holding of a Conciliative Council before the extraordinary plenary meetings. He suggested that the Factions went into recess to coordinate standpoints of the Factions.
The Chair read out the decree of the Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine concerning convocation of an extraordinary plenary meeting of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on 13-14 January at the request of 163 People´s Deputies members of the Party of Regions Faction and 151 People´s Deputies members of the "Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc" Faction. He announced a recess to hold consultations at the request of the BYuT and "Our Ukraine-People´s Self-Defence" Factions.
After the recess, Andriy Kozhemiakin, authorized representative of the BYuT Faction, announced the initiative of the two Factions to launch the meeting with the Bill on Amendments to the Law "On Elections of the President of Ukraine" (re Prevention of People's Will Distortion).
O. Lavrynovych stated that agenda had already been formed. He gave the floor to Ihor Umansky, acting Minister of Finance, who presented the adjusted Bill on the State Budget of Ukraine for 2010.
I. Umansky stated that the Draft State Budget for 2010 had been elaborated with account for the budget reform initiated by the Government. Jointly with the Association of Village and Rural-Type Settlement Councils, the Government suggested that The Verkhovna Rada approved new principles of budget system development in Ukraine.
Vadym Kolesnichenko, representative of the Party of Regions Faction, presented the appeal of the Faction. He stated that a delegation of pensioners tried to meet Yu.Tymoshenko, Prime Minister of Ukraine, that day to present a resolution of the rally held near the building of the Cabinet of Ministers. The resolution concerned the increase of minimal pensions. However, the meeting failed to take place. The Party of Regions Faction accused the Government of "nontransparent activity and refusal to communicate with the citizens struggling for their rights".
The People´s Deputies discussed the Bill. They stated that the People´s Deputies "are not willing to deal with the real economic sector, actual increase of wages and filling of the local budgets". Oleksandr Bilovol, First Deputy Minister of Public Health, presented the Report of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine of 5 November 2009 1700-VI "On the Situation connected with the Epidemic of Influenza and Pandemic Influenza А (H1N1), and Immediate Measures to prevent the Spreading".
O.Bilovol briefed on the measures taken by the Ministry of Public Health. The Deputy Minister also informed about the use of funds allocated for fighting flu epidemic. He stated that the Ministry of Public Health had taken all basic and necessary measures.
Valeriy Konovaliuk, Head of the Sub-Committee on Budget Programs Planning and Control over the Budget Funds Application in the Public Health Sector, made a co-report.
The Co-Reporter blamed the Government for the non-fulfillment of resolutions and decrees aimed at the prevention of origination and spreading of influenza А (H1N1).
V. Konovaliuk stressed that "the Government´s venture costs already 940 victims and the Government shall bear responsibility for this".
The People´s Deputies discussed the report, assessing the Government´s activity aimed at the flu epidemic fighting. They drew attention to the "suppression of statistical data concerning victims of the flu epidemic in the previous years".
After the discussion, Oleksandr Lavrynovych, First Deputy Chairman of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, announced a recess in the extraordinary plenary meeting till 10 a.m. on 14 January.