Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

The Chair of the Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, the first Deputy Chair of the Committee Vadym Halaychuk and the Deputy Chair of the Committee Maria Mezentseva took part in the Conference “The role of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the way to the full membership of Ukraine in the European Union”.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze focused on the interaction between authorities in the process of European integration, challenges and the importance of institutional capacity. She believes it is time to move from slogans to practical exchange between the committees of the Parliament and the systematic monitoring of the Government's steps towards European integration. She noted that currently the Government does not have enough institutional capacity for large-scale work on European integration. So far, it has been possible to rely on previous developments and the help of civil society. The institutional capacity of the Parliament is also insufficient. “I believe that this is one of the main challenges now. To start negotiations, we must present several road maps. First, on the reform of public administration, second on the functioning of democratic institutions and third on the reform of the judiciary, justice, freedom and security. This means that our main task now should be employing and training civil servants,” said the Chair of the Committee. According to her, since 2019, due to the curtailment of the civil service reform, Ukraine has lost many experienced civil servants. Temporary technical assistance projects of the European Union cannot solve this problem.

Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze emphasised that the productive cooperation of the Parliament with the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU and its subcommittees requires a complete change of tone and style of interaction in the current Parliament of the 9th convocation. “The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine does not demonstrate the political will to establish a respectful transparent dialogue between different political forces and does not take into account that today we have to move as quickly as possible on the European integration track,” said the Chair of the Committee. She noted that the Committee on the Integration into the EU has been operating for two years in the pilot mode based on a regulation which stipulates that conclusions must be drawn on draft laws not only before the first but also before the second reading. “Several times we have found ourselves in a situation where our committee prevented inconsistencies of the draft laws with the EU law. I am grateful that special committees reconsidered the draft laws before the second reading and as a result, much higher quality documents were submitted to the Verkhovna Rada. I wish the Verkhovna Rada at least to approve this pilot regulation, which has already proven its efficiency,” said Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze. She is also convinced that it is necessary to restore the balance of power in Ukraine. “The Constitution stipulates that Ukraine is a parliamentary-presidential state. Considering the fact that the Government has been to the question hour in the Parliament only twice since the start of the full-scale war, there is clearly a lack of accountability of the Government, of interaction, and real dialogue. It needs to be radically changed,” she said.

First Deputy Chairman of the Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU Vadym Halaychuk emphasised the importance of inter-parliamentary diplomacy in the process of European integration. According to him, cooperation with the European Parliament is crucial for the Verkhovna Rada. “Since Ukraine received the formal status of a candidate state, this cooperation has been very active. We had many contacts and joint events at the level of the leadership of the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament, at the level of the heads of committees, and at the level of individual deputies,” said Vadym Halaichuk. Bilateral contacts between deputies, according to him, help to address challenges, such as the protests of Polish farmers at the borders. Vadym Halaychuk also reminded that at the end of last year, a memorandum was signed with the European Parliament, in which further cooperation with Ukraine was outlined in detail. In particular, it is planned to open an office of the European Parliament in Ukraine and an office of the Verkhovna Rada in Brussels.

The Deputy Chair of the Committee, Maria Mezentseva, noted that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is an important platform for inter-parliamentary diplomacy. Thanks to the efforts of Ukrainian MPs, pro-Ukrainian attitudes and Ukraine's place on the agenda of this organisation have been significantly improved over the past two years. PACE, according to her, involves not only 46 member countries but also Israel, Canada, Morocco and other states which have the status of observers. These countries take part in shaping the world’s agenda. “The civilizational choice of Ukrainians is recognized all over the world. In PACE we communicate things that are reflected in the decisions of the European Parliament. This is not only technical European integration work, but also issues included in the President's peace plan. These are issues that we are solving at a new level within the framework of international law, issues of justice, and reparations for crimes. You know that the Register of Damage for Ukraine has been recently established. In a very short period, we were able to initiate an important process with our European partners and all G7 countries. Not only destroyed property should be compensated by the Ukrainian Government, but Ukrainians should also be able to receive compensation for all types of war crimes,” said Maria Mezentseva.