President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said if the Verkhovna Rada does not adopt the law on de-oligarchization, there is no point in dissolving parliament.
“I think that today Ukraine needs stability, that is why there are laws on de-oligarchization and on a referendum, when you can calmly resolve issues. Therefore, there is a law on lifting immunity and a law on impeachment. Everything should be regulated at the legislative level […] there is no point in dissolving the Verkhovna Rada today from the point of view of stability,” Zelensky said during a conversation with journalists at the Ukraine 30. Economy without Oligarchs all-Ukrainian forum.
According to the head of state, he is “confident in the Servant of the People party, which should support the bill.”
“There are also several democratic parties, as they call themselves. I think they should also support this initiative, despite the fact that it was my initiative, not theirs. Although in the future they will say that it was a joint initiative. The main thing now is to go through this process. This is a civilized way out from under the influence of oligarchs – for the government, business, individual officials and for oligarchs,” he said.
At the same time, as Zelensky sad the following: “If it happens that parliamentarians want to turn from legislators into businessmen, the president will expect support in society.”
“Then I will have a plan B,” he said.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov has signed an order to convene an extraordinary plenary meeting of the Rada in connection with the demand of 156 deputies, the press service of the parliament reports.
According to the released agenda, the deputies will hear information from the heads of the Security Service of Ukraine, the National Police and the State Bureau of Investigations regarding the events that took place near the building of the President’s Office on March 20, and will consider a draft resolution No. 5295 condemning these events.
The agenda also provides for the consideration of draft resolutions on the early termination of the powers of MPs Oleksandr Skychko and Ihor Kolykhayev, as well as on the appointment of early elections for the mayor of Kharkiv and Shehyni rural head in Lviv region.
The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Economic Development has recommended the adoption at the second reading bill No. 4543 on unblocking large-scale privatization, while its consideration is planned for next week, Deputy Head of the Committee Roksolana Pidlasa (the Servant of the People faction) told Interfax-Ukraine.
“The committee has just recommended bill No. 4543 on unblocking large-scale privatization for the second reading without changes. It is planned that next week the bill will be considered by the Verkhovna Rada,” she said after the committee meeting on Friday.
According to Roksolana Pidlasa, the law, if adopted, should enter into force the next day after its publication.
“For the first half of 2021, within the framework of large-scale privatization, it is planned to have President Hotel, United Mining and Chemical Company [UMCC], and First Kyiv Machine-Building Plant [previously Bolshevik plant]. There are audit reports on them and the process of preparing for privatization can be started,” the deputy head of the committee said.
As reported, the Verkhovna Rada on February 4 adopted government bill No. 4543, which provided for unblocking the large-scale privatization process.
The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the first reading adopted bill No. 4355 on amendments to the law “On the Unified State Demographic Register and Documents Confirming the Citizenship of Ukraine, Certifying the Identity or his Special Status”, which increases the status of using digital passports in the Diia application at the legal level.
Some 303 MPs voted for the document at a plenary session on Thursday.
“Ukrainians will be able to use digital passports on a par with paper ones. There will be no more options not to accept Diia anymore,” Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov commented on the adoption of the bill on his Facebook page.
He said that the relevant amendments to the said law were developed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation together with the Committee for Digital Transformation. “Prior to that, the use of passports in Diia was regulated by a decree of the Cabinet of Ministers,” Fedorov said. This bill also defines terminology, in particular the use of electronic passports.
The bill gives definitions to e-passport – a passport of a citizen of Ukraine in the form of a card and an e-passport for traveling abroad.
According to the bill, an e-passport can be presented on the territory of Ukraine for identification and confirmation of citizenship. However, this rule does not apply when crossing the state border and entering/leaving the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
According to the document, electronic copies of an e-passport and an e-passport for traveling abroad can be submitted and used as copies of a passport of a citizen of Ukraine, a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad.
An e-passport, an e-passport for traveling abroad are issued free of charge at the request of a person who has a passport of a citizen of Ukraine or a passport of a citizen of Ukraine for traveling abroad, which are issued using the means of the unified state demographic register.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky commends the adoption of the law “On democracy through the nationwide referendum” (draft law No. 3612) by the Verkhovna Rada, the presidential press service reported.
“Now Ukrainians will be involved in practice in making important decisions for the country, and the government will be forced to listen to the will of the people. The referendum is an important tool for expanding democracy in Ukraine,” the President stressed.
Zelensky noted that the adoption of the relevant law was one of the important points of his election campaign during the presidential elections, as the document makes the dialogue between the government and society clearer.
It has been determined that the following issues cannot be the subject of the nationwide referendum:
– those contrary to the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine, generally recognized principles and norms of international law, enshrined primarily in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, protocols thereto;
– those abolishing or restricting the constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen and guarantees of their realization;
– those aimed at eliminating the independence of Ukraine, violating the state sovereignty, territorial integrity of Ukraine, creating a threat to the national security of Ukraine, inciting interethnic, racial, religious hatred;
– those related to taxes, budget, amnesty;
– those referred by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine to the jurisdiction of the law enforcement agencies, the prosecutor’s office or the court.
The Verkhovna Rada has registered a draft resolution on the dismissal of Serhiy Shkarlet from the post of Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.
Document card No. 4525 appeared on the parliament’s website.
The authors of the resolution are deputies of the Holos and European Solidarity factions.
The text of the resolution has not been made public yet.
As reported, on December 17, the Verkhovna Rada appointed Serhiy Shkarlet as Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine.
Representatives of Holos stated that they had registered the facts of “pushing the buttons” during the voting for the appointment of Shkarlet. The European Solidarity faction also announced violations during the voting and asked the regulatory committee to review the situation. Representatives of both factions announced their intention to go to court to appeal against the appointment of Shkarlet to the post.
