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01 March 2022, 14:28

Statement of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the International Criminal Court’s preliminary examination and potential investigation of the ongoing full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine

01 March 2022, 09:06

Cyberpolice has called on 30 international VPN services to stop cooperating with Russian Federation

28 February 2022, 14:47

Statement Majlis of the Crimean-Tatar people

28 February 2022, 14:04

Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy of Ukrainian Parliament urged international organizations and foreign governments to impose economic sanctions on Russia

28 February 2022, 13:44

Statement Majlis of the Crimean-Tatar people

28 February 2022, 13:43

The appeal of the Vice-Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk

28 February 2022, 10:29

Committee called on financial community world leaders and politicians to impose radical sanctions on Russian institutions

27 February 2022, 20:36

Committe of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the questions of finance, fiscal and customs policy has decided to call on the leaders of the payment systems Visa and MasterCard to block payment services for all credit and debit cards issued by Russian banks, both in Russia and in the rest of the world

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07 February 2022

Head of the Committee on Foreign Policy and Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko met with the newly appointed Ambassador of Latvia to Ukraine

24 September 2021

Adopted the Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to Article 11 of the Law of Ukraine 'On State Awards of Ukraine'"

07 September 2021

Adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine ‘On Industrial Parks’ aimed at attracting investment in the industrial sector of the economy by introducing incentives in industrial parks”

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01 March 2022

Cyberpolice has called on 30 international VPN services to stop cooperating with Russian Federation

28 February 2022

Statement Majlis of the Crimean-Tatar people

28 February 2022

Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy of Ukrainian Parliament urged international organizations and foreign governments to impose economic sanctions on Russia

28 February 2022

Statement Majlis of the Crimean-Tatar people

28 February 2022

Committee called on financial community world leaders and politicians to impose radical sanctions on Russian institutions

27 February 2022

Statement on Ukraine by the IPU Executive Committee

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News

01 April 2021, 11:48

"The referendum is not only about the opportunity to make a decision, but also about the need to be responsible for it," Ruslan Stefanchuk

( Information Department of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Secretariat )

First Deputy Chairperson of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk debunked the main myths surrounding a number of laws on democracy.

Myth 1: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not sign the draft law on the all-Ukrainian referendum.

"The draft law on the all-Ukrainian referendum was voted on January 26, and on February 17 it was signed by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and sent to the President of Ukraine. There is no right to veto (it ended on the 15th day), so there is only one option - this bill will be signed. I hope that it will happen soon, and the Law will be published, and Ukrainians will receive a completely logical and correct mechanism for exercising their right to govern the state through an all-Ukrainian referendum," Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.

Myth 2: There are grounds to appeal the law on the all-Ukrainian referendum in the Constitutional Court.

"Given the procedure by which the bill on the all-Ukrainian referendum was both drafted and discussed, while receiving positive conclusions from the Venice Commission, I am surprised that there may still be objections. All your suggestions and comments could be expressed to the Working Group or during the all-Ukrainian discussion of the bill," explained the First Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine.

Myth 3: Among the risks associated with holding referendums is the possibility of splitting rather than uniting society if the referendum touches on painful issues.

"I think we will be able to avoid the vast majority of risks because we have provided a number of safeguards: substantive, organizational and financial. We have ruled out issues that could lead to violations of territorial integrity and loss of sovereignty, as well as those that are constitutionally entrusted to other bodies. We have formed a model close to the ideal, which will prevent many risks," said the First Deputy Chairperson of The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Myth 4: A referendum can deprive owners of the right to dispose of their land.

"Such an issue cannot be the subject of a referendum, as it contradicts the protocol of the first European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which stipulates that the right to property is an inviolable right," Ruslan Stefanchuk replied.

Myth 5: A referendum can repeal important laws.

"The people must be able to veto the law and declare it invalid as a result of the all-Ukrainian referendum,"the politician explained.

Myth 6: A local referendum is a war between the Office of the President of Ukraine and disobedient mayors.

"If he/she is a bad mayor who does not fulfill his/her duties, then this supervision of the people should be behind him/her, ”Ruslan Stefanchuk expressed his vision.

Myth 7: Frequency of local referendums (twice a year) will turn Ukraine into a country of permanent referendums.

"Given the practice that has existed in other countries, I do not think that Ukraine will hold many referendums," said the First Vice Speaker of the Parliament of Ukraine.

Myth 8: The "package of laws on democracy" is limited to two laws.

"So far, we are focusing on six or seven bills. These are bills on the all-Ukrainian referendum, on the local referendum, this is the legislation that will form the philosophy of recalls (the possibility of recalling certain officials), these are bills on electronic petitions and on electronic voting. We also plan to develop a number of bills on democracy in other areas, including a jury trial, justices of the peace, which will resolve minor disputes, and collective lawsuits. All these legislative initiatives are being developed in parallel," Ruslan Stefanchuk said.

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"The referendum is not only about the opportunity to make a decision, but also about the need to be responsible for it," Ruslan Stefanchuk