The agenda of the meeting included the issues of increasing the level of institutional capacity of the system of support for the work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and discussion of draft law No. 8327 on the Code of Ethics for People's Deputies of Ukraine.
At the beginning of the meeting, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko stressed that these are important issues both in the context of internal work and Ukraine's European integration path.
"The process of reforming the Parliament is endless, in a good way. We are following the recommendations of our European colleagues and digitalising everything. It is not fast, but we are making progress," the First Vice Speaker said.
The participants discussed proposals for updating the wording of the VRU Resolution "On Measures to Implement Recommendations on Internal Reform and Enhance the Institutional Capacity of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine", presented by the Deputy Secretary General — the Head of the Main Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Mykhailo Tepliuk.
In particular, the discussion focused on
- the legislative process and its adaptation to EU law;
- specific instruments of interaction between the Parliament and the Government;
- digital Parliament: openness, transparency and efficiency;
- institutional capacity of the Parliament;
- Parliamentary reform: constitutional dimension.
"After the European Council's decision to start negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, the legislative burden on the Parliament in the context of European integration will increase. Therefore, it is important to introduce the necessary reforms, strengthen cooperation with the Government and consolidate the existing successes. We must work to create a digital Parliament, which, by the way, currently has the highest rates of implementation of the reform roadmap. We must reform the Accounting Chamber, which is also a recommendation of the European Commission. And we also need to strengthen cooperation with the Government, as it should be the main initiator of European integration laws," said Mykhailo Tepliuk.
Other participants of the meeting drew attention to the importance of openness and transparency of parliamentary committees and the establishment of the Budget Office of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine as an additional tool to strengthen the institutional capacity of the Parliament in the field of finance.
As for the issue of the Code of Ethics, the Deputy Chair of the Committee on
Digital Transformation, Chair of the Subcommittee on the Development of Digital Society and Adaptation of Ukrainian Legislation to the EU Acquis, Viktoriia Podhorna presented the main provisions of Draft Law No. 8327.
The MP also highlighted the changes envisaged by the act: "The Code of Ethics will contain clear standards of conduct for MPs in the performance of their official duties and public activities, as well as sanctions for violations of these standards. Thus, we will be ready to meet the strict requirements of the European Commission regarding compliance with the rules of ethics. In addition, a separate institution will be established to monitor these issues and make decisions on certain situations."
At the end of the meeting, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko proposed to intensify ongoing consultations with European colleagues on their experience in implementing the practice of political committees, amendments to the Code of Ethics and regulation of communication with voters to clarify the direction of the Working Group's further activities.
The meeting of the Working Group was attended by MPs of Ukraine, representatives of the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, secretariats of the Parliamentary Committees and secretariats of parliamentary factions and groups.