Press conference
of Andrii Parubii, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has started.
The Parliament’s head is reporting on the 2,5-year outcome of the Parliament’s
proceedings.
A.Parubii: Ukraine’s great strides on its path of European
reforms
Opening the press conference, the Chairperson of the Parliament highlighted Ukraine’s sizeable advance made towards reforms capable of reshaping Ukraine into a European country not only geographically. “The year past has become a significant stage in Ukraine’s contemporary history. After centuries of Russian occupation Ukrainians return to their ‘European home’. The Ukraine-EU Association Agreement is in action, this June has brought us the EU free visa travel regime. Nothing, nothing can come between us to turn to the East, point us to Moscow. Ukraine’s future lies on the right track to the West. This is the greatest achievement of our Revolution of Dignity. This choice is being defended by our soldiers in ATO. We shall always be grateful to those who protected our nation’s right to shape our future by ourselves.We do appreciate the help rendered by our foreign partners and allies. Launching of the association agreement and granting the visa free travel – both are the displays of true honour to our will, to Ukrainians’ bravery. At the same time it is a sign of recognition of Ukraine’s great strides made since 2014 on its path to reforms capable of reshaping Ukraine into a European country not only geographically. What it means for us, dear colleagues? Never, not even for a moment, must we forget that the front line edge also cuts in here, in Kyiv – not only in Donbas or Chongar. Altogether, we all, you and me, are solely responsible for this very front here. As we managed to stop the aggressor in the eastern Ukraine, the foe switched over its tactics. The Kremlin set about breaking our inner front, doing its utmost to succeed. It is planned to completely poison the Ukrainian society with ‘sell-out’ and disappointment. By all means, at any time and place the Ukraine’s governing leadership is to be discredited and compromised, by this Kremlin's malicious intent”.
A.Parubii: Verkhovna Rada of VIII convocation as Lawmaker
Within the two-and-a-half year working span, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has approved 724 draft laws and 1379 resolutions.
‘Without the legal groundwork the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is exceptionally entitled to create, none of the changes in the country might be executed. The changes that Maidan was standing for. Within the wheels of state, a parliamentary presidential republic, the Parliament seems to be the most vulnerable and most crucial institute,’ put a stress A.Parubii, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
‘Once we go to a construction term, the Verkhovna Rada is the keystone of the national security and overall system of government. If one pulls it off, everything could collapse; so in case you are striving to disorder a state, lay out the parliament,’ said A.Parubii.
However, ‘our Parliament, the parliament of a state at war, for all these great difficulties, in spite of lots of ‘who’ and ‘what’, has held out and still in action’.
To add, even the half-cadence gave the Verkhovna Rada grounds to - as a lawmaker - be proud of producing 724 laws and 1379 resolutions.On defence and security
Defence and security issues have throughout the cadence been of top priority for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Dozens of resolutions worked out and approved by the Parliament to date have been aimed at reforming of Ukraine’s army, tightening up discipline and responsibility, supporting a legal status of servicemen, functioning of state institutes in frontline and de-occupied territories, protecting rights of ATO soldiers etc.
The last year legal changes provided a framework for the state programme to lift up social protection of servicemen. This is another step to professional army.
The newly adopted strong law on a uniform state register of draft-age persons (liable for military service) gave legal grounds for an automated military record able to beat in-office venal practices and choke off draft avoidance. Foreigners and stateless persons wishing to defend Ukraine by their own free will are now granted a legal right to serve in the Ukrainian army contractually.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine accepted the law on special operations forces – a new, modern, highly-skilled combat arm. The Armed Forces of Ukraine, after years of willful abolishment, has changed into a mighty power by concerted patriotic efforts. Nowadays, one of the biggest armies of the world must abide the Ukrainian power.Ukraine’s national colours in Brussels’s sky
At the press conference A.Parubii brought out his belief that ‘one day we shall see Ukraine’s flag up in front of NATO Headquarters in Brussels’: ‘Through its resolution of June 8 the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine formalized NATO membership among Ukraine’s foreign priorities. As the post-Soviet era background tells us, the Euro-Atlantic security is the only working tool for national sovereignty protection and territorial integrity. At the same time, a NATO-oriented policy means further modernization of Ukraine’s armed forces, launching new tech and procedural standards.
I do agree, entering NATO is quite ambitious objective, although the association agreement and the visa free regime have already demonstrated that Ukraine is a heavy goal-seeker. There is nothing impossible to us. And one day we shall see Ukraine’s flag up in front of NATO Headquarters in Brussels’.Ukraine and Europe at one on energy security
The Ukraine’s foreign priorities cover security, energy and regional collaboration as well as strengthening of inter-parliamentary ties.
“I am delighted to stress that the visa free regime and the association agreement with the European Union are a great joint achievement of the whole supreme force of Ukraine. I would like to highlight in this regard the efforts President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Arsenii Yatseniuk, and the then Parliament’s Speaker Volodymyr Hroisman have exerted.
To me, Ukraine’s foreign policy has set among its priorities security, energy and regional collaboration as well as strengthening of inter-parliamentary ties. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has ratified dozens of international agreements to this end. As is the one with Canada, for instance, providing for a free trade regime with this country.
To add, my recent visit to the USA has contributed to this regard by the cooperation memorandum between the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the United States Congress signed by myself and Paul Ryan, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Energy issues we discussed in detail with our Polish and American partners. Energy security is a base for our economy development, a kind of guarantee that Putin, as in 2009, would never ever plug up gas for us. That time background has proven that Ukraine’s security is an integral part of the Europe’s one, including its energy aspect. Stopping the war-provoking Nord Stream 2 gas pipe is in line with this energy security doctrine. It is not an overstatement; it is obvious that Russia would not be restrained from a large-scale warfare with Ukraine any more once it gets the gas streams switched over to the new line to Europe. What's more, the Nord Stream 2 is a well of huge funding for aggressive hostilities in Syria and Ukraine. This is a mere gear of the Russian political pressure over the European countries’.On regional cooperation
Ukraine’s regional cooperation is to be based on a joint work over infrastructural projects and development of its transit facilities.
‘Most of my international trips and meetings, Georgia, Lithuania and Poland, in particular, were dedicated to regional cooperation. It is my strong belief that the Baltic-Black Sea security zone ought to have an inter-parliamentary dimension. The Nordic Council is the best picture to show how non-EU members and non-NATO countries may interact all under one roof. Ukraine’s regional cooperation is to be based on a joint work over infrastructural projects, development of our transit capabilities, not limiting to military or energy challenges. The concept “Europe of the Carpathians” is seen to be of great potential to this end.
A cooperation memorandum with the Italian Chamber of Deputies is signed. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine will soon host such honored guests as Jens Stoltenberg, Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations.
It is worth reminding the episode – an unmitigated success of the Parliament’s delegation in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The Assembly then approved, despite a fierce resistance of the Kremlin’s lobby, some resolutions to recognize the fact of the Russian aggression in Crimea and Donbas. That was the Russia’s global defeat and at the same time - a striking proof of efficiency of Ukraine’s parliamentary diplomacy. Nowadays, as Ukraine is steadily moving to the EU and NATO, as European parliamentarians have started discussions over the double for the Marshall Plan to aid Ukraine, the Parliament’s share is on the rise.On judicial and anti-corruption reforms
To gain the long-awaited visa free regime Ukraine fulfilled 144 requirements related mainly to anti-corruption legislation. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, e-declarations for officials, direct access to property registers, open public purchases system were implemented. A large-scale judicial reform is in action. The new national police became a part of Ukraine’s life.Mental de-occupation is crucial
The mental de-occupation is in no way less important
for Ukraine than liberation of the occupied territories. The Parliament’s head
noted at the press conference that ‘the boundary line of military occupation of the
Ukrainian lands by Russia is now limited to Crimea and Donbas, but mental
occupation by the Kremlin is still stretching to the Ukraine’s west border’. The
mental de-occupation is first of all de-communization, destruction of totalitarian
Soviet symbols and visual identity. This very Verkhovna Rada prohibited nazi and
communist symbolics, the “St.George Ribbon”.
Another significant stride to this end made by Rada became a near complete elimination of the Kremlin’s print and e-propaganda from Ukraine’s information space; instead of commie occupation designations the Ukraine’s map regains its historic Ukrainian or Crimean Tatar names. The Ukrainian language weekly quotas were set to the TV broadcasters: 75% for nation-wide and regional, 60% for local channels. Appropriate quota limits were soon extended to the radio broadcasting. A.Parubii brought out his belief that ‘pushing for the Ukrainian language and songs in media constitutes a particular boost for revival of Ukraine’s culture to wide extent’. The law on promotion of the Ukrainian cinema, which grants public financing solely to the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar language films has the same goal.
Ukraine joins the top thirty in 2017
In 2017, Ukraine was named among the top thirty countries on information transparency, having bettered from 54 to 24 in a year.
At the press conference Andrii Parubii, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada underscored that Ukraine was methodically deregulating all spheres of social life and information area:
‘The media denationalization law was adopted in 2015
to launch the world’s standards in free accessibility of information. In 2017, Ukraine
was named among the top thirty countries on information transparency, having
bettered the leaderboard from 54 to 24 in a year and overtopped most European countries. Much
appraised were also our open state budget, access to public registers, transparency
of national legislation, statistics, purchases and expenditures. The Parliament’s
overall openness contributed a lot to this result. Last year we made advance in
electronic parliamentarism by introduction of such platforms as ‘Law public discussion
portal’ and ‘Сonciliation e-Board’, with
the ‘Parliamentary e-legislation’ under way. Moves in deregulation of
state-business interaction, implementation of European standards, introduction
of simple and open rules for running business etc. are very important, too. We cancelled
use of stamps for state-business interaction, admitted electronic export-import
contracts. For businesses with annual turnover less than UAH 3 m the Parliament
abolished any fiscal inspections and approved dozens of other deregulation laws
and resolutions, protecting businessmen from red-tape injustice.
Introduction of the European standards for running business not only brings Ukraine closer to Europe, but what is equally significant it makes Ukrainian goods to be internationally competitive, raises its investment and industrial attractiveness. All that leads to boost of technical upgrading, creation of additional employment, uplift in Ukrainians’ wellbeing.
On self-government (home rule) reform
The home rule reform goes on - citizens gain a real power locally and take responsibility over their provinces.
A.Parubii, the Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine said at the press conference that owing to the home rule reform now in action people got a real power and took responsibility over their provinces at the same time. Local communities’ mandates became wider and the incomes rose. Nevertheless, the state budget 2017 allotted UAH 9 bln to support a regional development. Voluntary association of citizens was significantly simplified by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. It gave a spur to establishment of powerful and independent territorial communities able to well govern locally.
Overall security as pressing task
A.Parubii named the core task for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in the coming year. It must be overall and total security to wide extent.
Military security lies in overwhelming support of the Ukrainian armed forces, restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, NATO membership. Economic security may be gained through promotion of home markets, support to domestic commodity producers, collaboration with the European Union with further full membership, in mind. Security in energy may be obtained through diversification of energy resources supplies and maximization of domestic energy capabilities. Informational security may be achieved by development of new technologies, cyber security, by protection of Ukraine’s information space.
On its pathway to the big Europe Ukraine should keep in mind that the European Union is something much wider than just decentralization, local business standards or accessibility of information. This is the new life quality that Ukraine could fail to reach without comprehensive and far-reaching reforms throughout its life.
‘I am confident that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of VIII convocation is abundant in parliamentarians capable of putting in force the changes the Revolution of Dignity was struggling for, the changes long-awaited by the Ukrainian people, the changes which lead Ukraine to the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization!'Glory to Ukraine!