VRU, EU-UNDP officials in debates on parliamentary reform and func audit of VRU Secretariat
10 February 2020, 17:45
“In order to attain effective outcomes from Verkhovna Rada’s work it is essential to employ all the resources of our parliament,” -- Dmytro Razumkov
The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Dmytro Razumkov, met with the parliamentary reform working team of the EU-UNDP project to hold debates on the course of reform and functional analysis of the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat (apparatus).
The Chairman of the Parliament emphasized that in order to have tangible results of the parliament’s work it is necessary to utilize all the resources identified in the course of the said functional audit. He also noted that the parliament output is sometimes more dependent on the secretariat’s quality and professional work than on MPs’ activities.
Ruslan Stefanchuk, the First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, made special reference to the system and holistic work with partners during the year and stressed the importance of monitoring legislative activity, drafting proposals for new parliamentary regulations, making up a legislative activity plan and outlining prospective plans for further cooperation. “By joining forces, we will be able to build a new high-quality platform for reforming Ukraine’s highest legislature. I am convinced that there will be a lot of work, but it is important to move on to the implementation of these issues,” he said, emphasizing that with the help of international partners this work would make a great contribution to reforming parliamentary procedures and parliamentarism as a whole in Ukraine.
The Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratiuk stressed that the Verkhovna Rada is wholly open and ready to change the rules of procedure, increase its accessibility, gender equality and inclusiveness.
Olena Ursu, Portfolio Manager for the Democratic Governance and Reform Programme of UNDP Ukraine, informed the Verkhovna Rada Chairman about the recent experts' groundwork - a draft strategy for up-building the staff capacity of the Verkhovna Rada Secretariat.
She also reminded that the ongoing functional analysis of the VRU Secretariat is a EU-financed project, which is meant to result in preparing guidelines aimed at likely reconfiguring the secretariat’s organizational chart and partial redistributing its powers.