Ukraine Rada may review tomorrow two bills required by West

Ukraine’s parliament may review on March 1 the bill on
national security and the bill creating the anti-corruption court, news reports
said, which are two critical legislative items being required by Western
governments and institutions. This morning, President Poroshenko submitted the
national security bill to parliament, calling for immediate committee review.
Besides resetting the foundations and strategy for the nation’s defense, the
national security bill strengthens the role of civil society in monitoring the
activity of the Armed Forces, including state tenders.

Meanwhile, the bill to create an independent High
Anti-Corruption Court has been included in the parliamentary agenda, among with
2,900 other bills, Speaker Andriy Parubiy said. However, he couldn’t muster
enough votes to approve the agenda at the Feb. 27 session. The failure to
approve the agenda is because MPs don’t want to support the anti-corruption
court legislation, MP Maksym Burbak said, as reported by the pravda.com.ua news
site.

Zenon Zawada: The
anti-corruption court is what’s most important for Ukraine, given that all this
year’s lending from the West is dependent on its passage. In particular, the
IMF has been adamant about the need to approve the legislation, but that hasn’t
prompted the president and his parliamentary faction to quicker action.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government is requiring the national security bill, which
has been endorsed by Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. At this
point, we give it 50/50 odds that these measures will be approved this week.