President’s Office planning 60 bills for first days of parliament

The President’s Office of Ukraine is planning to submit
for approval about 60 bills in the first days of the autumn parliamentary
session, the capital.ua news site reported on Aug. 20, citing an anonymous
source in the office. The office’s leadership mentioned this goal to Ukrainian
President Zelensky during a recent meeting and is determined to fulfill it, the
source said. The list of bills is currently being drafted, and most of them
haven’t yet undergone the necessary procedures for registration, the source
said. Some MPs of The People’s Servant party may be upset that the office
drafted the bills without their involvement, the source said. The first session
of the ninth convocation of Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, will
convene on Aug. 29.

Parliament will review a large number of bills in its
first day and will work as long as necessary until a new Cabinet and prime
minister are elected, David Arakhamia, the likely head of the People’s Servant
parliamentary faction, told the Ukrinform news agency on Aug. 21. “Buy some
coffee in order not to sleep. Changes and news await the country on the 29th.
Everyone will find out a lot. There will be much news,” he said.

Among the bills being prepared by parliament is the
simplification of the procedure of hiring and dismissing state officials, Max
Nefyodov, the head of the State Customs Service, said on Aug. 21, as reported
by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. Nefyodov said he is preparing the bill
with Office officials and hopes it is among the first to be approved. He said
current legislation makes it difficult to dismiss corrupt customs officials,
who can take medical leave and remain employed indefinitely.

Zenon Zawada: Indeed the
first days of parliament promises much excitement. While some things are already
apparent, such as the 35-year-old Dmytro Razumkov becoming elected speaker, big
question marks remain. They are who will be the new prime minister (our bets
are on the 35-year-old neophyte Honcharuk), who will be the new prosecutor
general (the 42-year-old Ruslan Riaboshapka has been mentioned), who will be
the foreign minister (few clues offered) and whether billionaire Ihor
Kolomoisky – and main Zelensky election campaign sponsor – will get his wish of
Arsen Avakov remaining as internal affairs minister.

Among the legislation we expect to be approved will be
an impeachment procedure, in tandem with the removal of political immunity for
all members of parliament. Approving legislation to create a farmland market so
soon would be quite dramatic, shocking for many Ukrainians, yet it would send a
bold message of support to the investment community, both in Ukraine and
abroad. If not next week, then we expect this bill to be passed in the next
month or two.