Extraordinary plenary meeting on January 27, 2015

Having opened the morning plenary meeting, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman claimed that the world society mourns after victims of Holocaust (whole world marks the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, designated by the UN General Assembly resolution) and marks liberating of the Auschwitz. "Today we commemorate innocent victims who are being killed by criminals, barbarians, and thieves – Volnovakha, Mariupol, and Donetsk", he stressed. 

MPs paid tribute to the deceased with a moment of silence.

Representatives of deputy factions and groups made their statements, messages, and claims.

Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman informed that on January 26, 2015, the Central Election Commission registered the following people's deputies Yurii Babii ("People's Front"), Yaroslav Lesiuk and Iryna Lutsenko ("Petro Poroshenko Bloc").  

Newly elected MPs took an oath to the Verkhovna Rada.

The Chairperson announced for consideration the issue on the Statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.  

Chairperson of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Hanna Hopko read out the Statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to the United Nations, European Parliament, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, NATO Parliamentary Assembly, GUAM Parliamentary Assembly and international parliaments on recognizing the Russian Federation the aggressor state. "Since the beginning of aggression in late February of 2014, the Russian Federation has been systematically breaking fundamental norms of international law and human rights", the Statement reads. 

The Verkhovna Rada adopted the respective resolution with 271 votes.

First Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrii Parubii reported on the draft resolution on amendments to the plan calendar of the second session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the eighth convocation. 

MPs upheld the draft resolution with 259 votes.

MPs included into the agenda and considered the draft law on amendments to several legislative acts of Ukraine re recognizing organizations as terrorist (Reg. No. 1840).

Deputy Minister of Justice Anton Yanchuk reported on this bill. The governmental official claimed the bill aims at unifying and improving legislative mechanism of recognizing organizations as terrorist ones.

Secretary of the Committee on Legislative Support of Law Enforcement Anton Herashchenko informed about the Committee's decision to recommend that the Verkhovna Rada adopt the bill in the first reading.

During the discussion, MP Oleh Liashko suggested that "the Parliament should recognize organizations as terrorist ones upon submission of the National Security and Defence Council".

Leader of "Petro Poroshenko Bloc" faction Yurii Lutsenko upheld the proposal of O.Liashko.

The bill was adopted as a basis with 270 votes with consideration of the voiced proposals.

Next agenda item – the draft law on amendments to the Law "On Lustration" re additional measures on ensuring country’s defence capacity (Reg. No. 1841) was reported by the people’s deputy Andrii Teteruk.

The bill establishes not to apply prohibition, stipulated in chapters three or four of article 1 of the Law "On Lustration", to senior officers who work (worked) in internal affairs bodies, the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and other formations under laws of military formations if this is caused by the need to ensure defense capacity of the country and provided a respective request is granted in the order established by this law. 

Co-reporting, Chairperson of the Committee on Judicial Policy and Justice Ruslan Kniazevych noted that “in view of the fact that a great number of the people’s deputies – members of the Committee at present are at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, we cannot muster a quorum. Thus, we would ask the session hall either to take the decision without our Committee, or to decide on how to act, since we did not take any decision.”

The Verkhovna Rada upheld the bill as a basis and in entirety with consideration of proposals made by 241 votes.

The draft law on amendments to the Law “On the National Guard of Ukraine” (re refining organization and order of activity of the National Guard of Ukraine), registered under No. 1848, was included into the agenda.

The people’s deputies did not uphold the proposal to include the following bills into the agenda: on military police (Reg. No. 1805) and on amendments to several laws of Ukraine re increasing sanctions against license-holders for violation of television and radio broadcasting legislation (Reg. No. 1824). 

Parliamentarians took the decision to postpone consideration of the bill registered under No. 1855 that is still under preparation for the second reading.

Further on, the people’s deputies considered the bill on military-civil administrations (Reg. No. 1855). The bill was presented by the people’s deputy Yu.Lutsenko.

Yu.Lutsenko addressed the people’s deputies asking them to uphold this bill.

The bill was included into agenda by 242 votes.

Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oksana Syroid announced that the following inter-faction unions were established in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine: “Lviv region” (Oksana Yurynets, Yurii-Bohdan Shukhevych, Ihor Vasiunyk and Iryna Podoliak were elected co-chairpersons of the union); “European Kharkiv region” (the people’s deputy Mykhailo Koptsev was elected chairperson of the union); “Revival of Kherson region” (the people’s deputy Andrii Hordieiev was elected chairperson of the union); and “For Kyiv” (the people’s deputies Nataliia Novak and Ihor Lutsenko were elected co-chairpersons of the union).   

Volodymyr Groysman adjourned extraordinary plenary meeting.

Next plenary meeting of the first session will be held on Tuesday, February 3d.