By KYIV. Dec 28 (Interfax-Ukraine) – In 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine plans to focus on the needs of the army in repelling Russia’s armed aggression and issues related to mobilization processes, as well as on further European integration and rapprochement between Ukraine and NATO, Chairman of Parliament of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk said.
“There are several important components of the work plan of the Ukrainian parliament in the coming year. The first is issues related to the war, which, unfortunately, continues in Ukraine. In this sense, the Verkhovna Rada will have a number of components, including a bill on mobilization, and a number of other issues related to the rotation of military personnel, a fair approach to fulfilling the duty to defend their homeland. In addition, I am convinced that a number of budgetary issues will be associated with this, because any mobilization processes entail the need to find funds to support them,” Stefanchuk told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday.
The second important block, according to him, will be European integration activities, as Ukraine managed to open negotiations on accession to the European Union, which means that “before March, everything must be done to approve this framework, these 35 sections, along which the Verkhovna Rada will begin to move, passing the necessary laws and bringing our legislation into line with the standards of the European Union, the so-called acquis communautaire.”
At the same time, the chairman said in 2024 this component will be a system and significant in the work of the Verkhovna Rada, which will be under constant monitoring by colleagues from the European Union. “They will be honest about what has been accomplished and what has not. Therefore, our task is to obtain 100% compliance with all recommendations and directives, other components of the legislation of the European Union,” he said.
Therefore, as the chairman explained, the agenda of the plenary sessions of the Rada cannot include technical or pass-through European integration bills, because “everyone, even small in volume or not so hype, which everyone is discussing, is our step on the path to the European Union.”
“I am convinced that there will be a lot of such bills, because we will implement directives, regulations, and a whole range of other technical documentation. Some at the parliamentary level, some at the government level,” Stefanchuk said.
The third block of issues that the Verkhovna Rada plans to focus on will concern Ukraine’s rapprochement with NATO.
“We really hope for the Washington summit, we set very important goals for ourselves, which also require appropriate legislative support. And therefore, laws that will bring the Ukrainian army, the Ukrainian Armed Forces closer to NATO standards, to compatibility in army management, will also become very important component of the work of parliament for the next year,” the chairman said.
In addition, the Verkhovna Rada intends to continue political cooperation with the parliaments of other countries, participating in a number of events.
At the same time, Stefanchuk predicts that parliamentary activity will be focused on a separate track dedicated to the Peace Formula of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “I think this will be some kind of separate parliamentary summit. We are now discussing the format of this, because for us it is extremely necessary that this formula be produced in all countries, find its support, and we go to the United Nations with the formula that agreed with our partners at all levels, including parliamentary,” he said.
