Ukraine’s parliament opens new session today

Ukraine’s parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, opens its eighth session today which is due to last until summer break in mid-July. Brad Wells: For the first time in recent memory, Ukraine enters the year without a major nationwide election scheduled and with all the major government bodies (President, Cabinet of Ministers and parliamentary majority) on the same page, fuelling speculation that reform will be front and center this session. The government has set an ambitious agenda that includes contentious issues such as making over the pension system (including proposals to increase the retirement age for women gradually to 55 by 2020) and labor code. However, the substance of the proposed changes will be closely watched, especially following the government’s attempt to hammer tax code reform, the government’s big-ticket reform of last year, through parliament last fall, sparked popular protests, forced a rewrite and gave a second life to the opposition.