Donbas reintegration bill significantly amended, yet to be approved

The bill to reintegrate Donbas, which awaits approval
in the second reading, has been significantly rewritten since it was approved
in the first reading in early October, said on Dec. 19 MP Iryna Lutsenko of the
Poroshenko Bloc, who also serves as the president’s representative to
parliament. “Very little is left” of the president’s strategy for the peaceful
and diplomatic return of Donbas under the control of the Ukrainian government,
she said. “Therefore I call upon you to wait until the conclusions of the legal
administration and view the deformed strategy with understanding. And I call
upon you to conduct additional consultations so that this bill had that
appearance as when the president submitted it.”

In response, among the bill’s top critics, Parliament
Vice Speaker Oksana Syroyid, announced that she has reversed her previous
opposition to the bill and called for the second reading’s approval this week.
So did the People’s Front parliamentary faction, which had closely worked with
the president’s faction but has broken ranks on several key issues in recent
weeks.

Yet the Poroshenko Bloc Faction Head Artur Herasimov
insisted the bill’s approval needs to be delayed also to allow for Ukrainian
diplomats to ensure that further sanctions are imposed against Russia and more
war prisoners are released. The bill needs to be approved in order for Ukraine
“to win tactically,” said First Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Iryna
Herashchenko.

Zenon Zawada: The status
of this bill is worth watching not only because of the enhanced authority it
would give President Poroshenko, but also because of the violent protests it
has the potential to trigger from its fiercest opponents, particularly
Ukrainian nationalists and war veterans. That is part of the reason its review
has been delayed, although politicians also identified the need to hold off on
its approval until Ukraine secures more diplomatic concessions on the
international arena.

Few have seen what these major changes to the
legislation have been. Yet if it suddenly has the support of Syroyid and the
Self-Reliance faction – who complained that it illegally gives the president
wide wartime authority without a formal declaration of war – then that could
indicate that such controversial provisions have been removed. And with the
president apparently being dissatisfied and demanding their return, we can only
expect the second reading’s approval to be delayed indefinitely, certainly
until next year. We will continue to monitor this bill’s progress, including
its amendments.