This was stated by the First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko during the presentation of the research of the NGO “Movement CHESNO” on the transparency of the activities of the Parliamentary Committees in the first half of 2023.
In his opening remarks, the First Vice Speaker stressed that over the past year and a half, the role of committees in the work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has significantly increased.
“During the war, the workload of the committees has increased: more amendments and discussions of laws are required per unit of time. Certain provisions of the new draft laws also need to be finalised. Many committees often have productive discussions, which indicates a search for a compromise. As a result, the document ceases to be a debatable one in the session hall and is quickly voted on,” said Oleksandr Korniienko.
He also reminded that committees are a constitutional form of work of the Parliament, which, according to the Law on Committees, are to a certain extent politically self-governing structures. However, according to him, they should and must change the principles and approaches to their activities in accordance with the requirements of the present, and become more modern.
“This needs to be changed and we will change it. The Parliament’s Secretariat is currently working on an updated structure, and it will soon be presented and discussed in the parliament. In particular, a separate issue of consideration should also concern the secretariats of the committees,” said the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
In addition, Oleksandr Korniienko called on international partners not to reduce their assistance in developing the institutional capacity of the Parliament and its committees in particular. According to him, technical assistance from international institutions “is a very important mechanism for increasing transparency” of the work of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and its committees.
During the discussion, the participants also discussed a number of other issues important for the transparency and openness of the committees’ activities, such as their presence in the public space, the content of their websites and social media, and information about the results and conclusions of their meetings.
In particular, the highest scores in terms of openness were given to the Committees on Humanitarian and Information Policy; National Health, Medical Care and Health Insurance, Human Rights, Energy and Housing and Communal Services; and State Authorities, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning.
The discussion was also attended by Mykhailo Radutskyi, the Chairman of the Committee on National Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy, and members of the Ukrainian Parliament.