The issues of European integration and the introduction of European living standards in Ukraine are the priority for all parliamentary parties in the country, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Volodymyr Rybak said during a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Tefft on Friday, the press service of the Ukrainian parliament reported.
Rybak noted that the Ukrainian parliament ordered on Friday the Verkhovna Rada Committee on European Integration to draft a single resolution on Ukraine’s commitment to its course of European integration.
In turn, the U.S. ambassador said that the results of this vote are a “strong signal” to the international community.
Tefft also praised the level of bilateral cooperation, in particular, its parliamentary component. The U.S. is ready to continue cooperation with Ukraine in the framework of the Strategic Partnership Charter, the ambassador said.
Rybak noted that Ukraine made consistent steps towards the implementation of democratic reforms.
“I hope that some of the differences in the vision of certain aspects of the internal political development of Ukraine at the present stage, in particular that of the results of the parliamentary elections in our country, do not prevent us from maintaining effective communication on the whole array of issues, that fill our partnership with strategic content,” Rybak said.
The speaker said that the constitutional reform would be decisive for the democratic development of Ukraine.
In this context, he spoke about the work of the Constitutional Assembly, whose task is to prepare the proposals for the president for the improvement of the political system and the changes to the Constitution.
“The constitutional process is held solely within the legal framework established by the current Constitution and in close cooperation with the Venice Commission. We have already held three plenary meetings of the assembly, which have produced certain results,” Rybak said.
The Verkhovna Rada chairman said that the reform of the Ukrainian justice system, which is aimed at bringing it compliance with European values and standards, is the key element in building an effective mechanism for the protection of the constitutional rights of Ukrainians.
In this context, he told the ambassador about the adoption of the law on the judicial system and the status of judges and the implementation of the law on legal assistance.
According to Rybak, Ukraine also holds the reform of criminal justice system in close cooperation with the Council of Europe, which is aimed at improving the operation of the entire judicial system.
In particular, a new Code of Criminal Procedure came into force on November 20, 2012. It underwent additional examination by the Directorate General of Human Rights and Legal Affairs of the Council of Europe prior to being signed by the president of Ukraine.
