Stefanchuk on new requirements for People’s Deputies to travel abroad: Theses from MFA are implementation of one voice principle
The fact that People’s Deputies receive theses from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine before their business trips abroad is not an attempt to restrict their activities, but will help to implement the principle of one voice in state policy in the international arena, said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk.
"The issue of receiving theses from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs caused a great flurry of discussions. I want to remind you that during martial law, one voice from the state is very important. And those who criticize this when they go on business trips still receive such talking points because this is the state policy. Of course, you can say whatever you want on your own behalf, but on the main issues (weapons, finance, assistance to Ukraine, sanctions support) we all have to speak with one voice. And that is why such theses should be provided. And this is right, because we, as the state of Ukraine, are one team at the international level," Stefanchuk said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine, commenting on the changes that came into force in the regulation on people's deputies' business trips abroad, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, these are "elementary requirements" (which exist in many parliaments) that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine is bringing to "appropriate standards" that will allow for effective work.
"To begin with, the regulation clearly stipulates that an People`s Deputies must receive these theses or agree on their own in order to have one voice. If a member of parliament acts at odds with Ukraine's position, does he or she have the right to represent the parliament in international relations? I have serious doubts. I want to emphasize that business trips are one of the components of interparliamentary activity. And when a deputy represents the Ukrainian parliament, he or she should speak on behalf of the parliament about what the Ukrainian people need today, and not pursue any of his or her own business interests. Again, we have established such a flexible rule in the regulation because we understand that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs cannot dictate to the parliament, but the main provisions, the main one voice on the state's policy, must be supported by all those who represent Ukraine abroad," the speaker explained.
At the same time, he emphasized that the effectiveness of inter-parliamentary activities is its priority.
"The Parliament of the IX convocation has to present something to Ukrainian society in terms of inter-parliamentary diplomacy. These are issues related to the decisions of the parliaments of the world to support Ukraine, to provide financial assistance, weapons. This is a great work of parliamentary assemblies. This is the adoption of decisions on sanctions against the aggressor, on recognizing [Russia] as an aggressor state. These issues are related to the support of the Peace Formula and the Crimean Platform. This is the issue of the Holodomor: in two years, we have managed to double the number of parliaments that have recognized the Holodomor as genocide, and we are talking about parliaments that were said to never do so. Yes, I have something to present to Ukrainian society regarding the work of this parliament. But is it perfect? Of course not. Therefore, after analyzing how we conducted parliamentary activities in the previous period, it became necessary to make certain adjustments from January 1," Stefanchuk said.
According to him, in addition to the provisions concerning the theses from the Foreign Ministry, the updated order also stipulates that deputies will not be able to extend the number of days of a business trip on their own: now it will be clearly regulated, because "they have to go, fulfill their mission and return."
At the same time, according to the VR Speaker's order, before going on a business trip abroad, deputies are obliged to submit a plan for it, indicating the results with which they plan to return to Ukraine. Stefanchuk also emphasized that people's deputies will not be able to "declare one business trip and go to another country because it is more interesting there."
"Then we have a number of issues related to reports. Apparently, some business trips are so effective that there is nothing to report. But at the same time, I want to remind you that such reports are a requirement of the law on the status of a People`s Deputy," the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament added.
As reported, on January 1, 2024, amendments to the order of the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of December 30, 2022, No. 806 "On Some Issues of the Procedure for Registration of Business Trips Abroad by People's Deputies of Ukraine under Martial Law" came into force.
The updated regulation stipulates, among other things, that prior to such business trips, MPs must receive official explanations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the state's foreign policy course or theses of official statements and comments of the People's Deputy approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to implement the state policy in the field of foreign relations on issues related to the topic of the business trip abroad.
