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.