Committees round-up: Daily

There are |||| bodies in focus of our committee scan today:

• Committee on Agrarian and Land Policy

At its 27 May sitting, the committee saw into the following bills:

Bill No.3398 “On amendments to Section X ‘Transitional and Final Provisions’ of the Law of Ukraine ‘About the state control over law compliance on food products, forages, animal by-products, animal health and welfare”. The draft bill aims to ensure an effective and steady state control at the border in light of restrictions resulting from the quarantine. The law is also intended to provide a one-year extension (until May 17, 2021) for supervisory powers of regional veterinary and sanitary authorities at the border in order to avoid likely stoppage in monitoring of export-import operations. The committee’s recommendation to the parliament is taking the bill on the second reading as law.

Bill No.3205-2 “On the partial guarantee fund for agricultural loans”. The bill aims to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through the provision of (partial) credit guarantees that mitigate the risk of non-repayment of agro-loans and creating cleared conditions for a sound functioning of the land market and Ukraine’s agricultural industry. The bill provides Ukrainians with the opportunity to freely dispose of their property and obtain the fair value through lifting the farmlands circulation moratorium. To achieve these aims, the bill suggests setting up a partial guarantee fund for agricultural loans as soon as possible. The committee’s recommendation to the parliament is taking the bill on the first reading.

Bill No.2558 as to removing legislative loopholes in customs regulations as to placing live animals under quarantine at border checkpoints and protecting animal welfare.

Additionally, committeemen decided to support two appeals – (i) to the President of Ukraine, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine to prevent the introduction of special quotas for mineral fertilizers, as well as (ii) to the Prime Minister of Ukraine to establish a separate Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

• Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights

At its 27 May sitting, the committee viewed the bill No.2681 intended to drastically alter Ukraine’s trade-union legislation. The polar purposes of the bill are to bring existing labour and trade union legislation into line with the present-day working conditions, and to eliminate duplication of efforts by trade union organizations. A bulk of reservations towards the bill were voiced by MPs, whilst representatives of trade unions proposed to axe it writ large as it narrows trade union’s powers heavily. Following the debate, the committee decided to recommend that the parliament take the bill on the first reading and set up an ad hoc working group in charge of its drafting.

• Committee on Education, Science and Innovations

At its 27 May sitting, the committee considered the bill No.2604 “On amendment to the Law of Ukraine ‘On higher education’ as to improving the social and economic situation of students”. As the draft law proved to be poorly backed economically, committeemen decided to send it for review.

Bill No.2664 “On nourishment in general secondary education institutions”. The bill was thoroughly viewed and then sent for review.

Bill No.3499 “On interpellation”. The purpose of the law is to ensure the Verkhovna Rada’s powers to monitor the Cabinet of Ministers’ activity by establishing the right for MPs to initiate mandatory hearings on activities of each individual member of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. This tool might be used so long as being triggered by 45 members of parliament at the least or by a line committee against every minister save premier. If an interpellation inquiry declares that a minister was unsatisfactory in his job performance, the minister faces the sack. The committee decided to recommend that the parliament take the bill on the first reading and set up an ad hoc working group in charge of making it ready for the second reading.

Bill No.2481 “On amendments to certain legislative acts of Ukraine concerning qualification as an adaptation and mobility factor of a Ukrainian”. The committee decided to recommend that the parliament take the bill on the first reading with some further second-reading updates.

Bill No.3183 (and No.3184 as related one) “On a free economic zone and special investment regime in the Kherson oblast”. After careful consideration, the committee decided to recommend that the line committee reject both of the bills as MPs are not entitled by law to initiate creation of any FEZ. The bills also make uneven playing field for taxpayers that goes against laws in force.

• Committee on Public Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance

At its 27 May sitting, the committee considered rendering medical care to patients with cancer under quarantine. The most burning problems were named to be as follows:

- public purchases of medicines are presently made in line with the 2018-2019 timetable, thus currently bringing certain drug shortages and forcing the patients to buy them on their own account;

- there is no prescribed coronavirus testing procedure yet, neither for patients, nor for accompanying persons;

- there is no prescribed treatment abroad procedure for cases not able to be cured locally, in Ukraine.

In February, there were held parliamentary hearings on how to set up the fight against cancer in Ukraine, the related problems and ways to solve them, resulted in followup development of a national anticancer strategy.

The meeting also addressed the issue of providing Ukrainian citizens suffering from rare (orphan) diseases with medicines and food products for dietetic service, as well as the measures taken by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine to address them. Currently, there is no register of those suffering from orphan diseases, which makes problems in understanding their number and needs. It was, however, stated, that a national strategy on meeting the needs of patients with orphan diseases is being developed at present. The committee decided to take note of the information and request the health ministry to include NGOs in line working groups.

The committee also considered the measures taken by the Ministry of Health to accelerate the start of centralized public procurement of medicines and medical products pursuant to the 2020 state budget line. Responding to the question posed, the health minister informed that the needs for 2020 have already been approved and the procurement would go two ways: through the SE “UkrMedPostach” and through international organizations. The committee decided to take note of the information and request the health ministry to take further measures to speed up the said public purchase of medicines.