Latest Ukraine MP infected with virus, postponing special session

Ukraine’s latest
member of parliament, Serhiy Rudyk, has contracted the coronavirus, raising the
total number to four, the pravda.com.ua news site reported on Mar. 24. As a
result, a special session planned for Thursday, Mar. 26 is postponed for Mar.
28, the news site said. The bills being drafted enable conducting sessions and
committee meetings in video conference mode (with one-by-one voting) for at
least two months, introduce measures to cope with the coronavirus, improve
social and economic conditions amid virus conditions, amend the budget and
satisfy IMF requirements, particularly with prohibiting the return of failed
banks to former shareholders, the news site said.

Zenon Zawada: Conducting parliamentary sessions
and committee meetings online makes sense. However, the more controversial
measures being planned, related to the launch of the farmland market and
possible concessions to Russia in Donbas, will draw fierce opposition from
those who believe such critical matters need to handled in the building itself,
in order to allow for public protests outside. Otherwise, public opinion won’t
be adequately expressed online, they will argue. We expect that parliament will
nonetheless move forward with voting on such controversial measures, especially
the farmland market bill, which is being required by the IMF.