20 March 2018, 14:46
The Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy opened the session.
Representatives of parliamentary factions and groups made their announcements, statements, reports, proposals.
Arguments on agenda
Bill No.8063. Parliamentarians opened a debate on the agenda of the ongoing VIII session of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine under the above draft bill. The Chairman noted that the list of issues included more than 2900 bills. Due to lasting rejection of the session’s agenda, functioning of ten parliamentary committees was still pending. The Сhairman kindly asked the members of the Parliament to vote on the agenda of the eighth session as soon as possible. If the issue is not supported, the committees will not be able to consider a number of important bills. Finally, 239 parliamentarians supported the draft agenda resolution after it had been triply voted.
Forest bills
After the break, parliamentarians went on considering issues on industrial policy and entrepreneurship. They reviewed two bills on amending some of the laws of Ukraine on preserving Ukrainian forests and preventing the illegal export of unprocessed timber under No.5495 and 5495-1.
New body in the House
The First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Iryna Herashchenko announced creation of an inter-factional parliamentary association "There Are No Other Children" -- to be headed by Iryna Lutsenko, MP.
The output of the session
Second reading bills taken
Draft bill No.8063
The VIII session agenda bill has been finally taken by 239 votes. The resolution was adopted taking into account the proposals of parliamentary factions and groups.
Draft bill No.6106
The law of Ukraine "On strategic environmental impact assessment” has been adopted by the Parliament.
The legislative enactment is aimed at adapting Ukrainian legislation to the European Union laws in terms of establishing the scope and procedure for strategic environmental assessments according to Directive 2001/42/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 June 2001 on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment as well as to the Protocol on Strategic Environmental Assessment to the Convention on Environmental Impact Assessment in a Transboundary Context.
The law defines the scope of the strategic environmental assessment, establishes the procedure for its implementation, organizes cross-border consultations, informs about the decisions taken and conducts monitoring of the implementation of strategies, plans, national programs and state target programmes.
Force of the law is applied to those state planning documents that will have an impact on environment and public health. The law regulates relations in the field of environmental impact assessment, including public health, and implementation of state planning documents. The law applies to agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, industry, transport, waste management, water use, environmental protection, telecommunications, tourism, urban development and land management. The law does not cover state planning documents related to national security and emergency situations, budgets, budget programs and financial plans, as well as programs of economic and social development of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, regions, districts and cities, villages and settlements for the short-term period.
First reading bills taken
Draft bill No.5495
There has been adopted the draft bill amending some laws of Ukraine concerning preservation of Ukrainian forests and preventing the illegal export of rough (un-processed) timber.
The bill proposes to:
- set limits on domestic consumption of raw wood in the amount of 20 million cubic meters per year,
- strengthen administrative and criminal responsibility for illegal logging and further exporting outside of customs control (smuggling),
- instruct the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to develop a comprehensive programme for restoration of the forest fund of Ukraine,
- determine priority areas for the restoration of forests and forest cultivation, protection of forests against fires, protection against pests and diseases, other forestry measures, as well as the order and methods of conducting them.
The relevant changes are to be introduced into the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses, the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the law of Ukraine "On peculiarities of state regulation for activity of business entities related to the selling and exporting timber products”.
Draft bill No.6235
There has been adopted the draft law "On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine on technical regulations and conformity assessment”. The draft law proposes to eliminate inconsistencies of certain norms governing technical regulations and conformity assessment.
The presiding officer closed the meeting.