Zelensky’s party suggests reducing number of parliament committees

Servant of the People, the pro-presidential party in the Ukrainian parliament, has suggested reducing the number of parliamentary committees from 27 to 22.

The party first proposed the list of committees at the parliament’s preparatory meeting and announced it publicly on Facebook on Aug. 9.

The list will probably be approved, since Servant of the People holds a one-party majority in the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian Parliament.

The party received 43.16 percent of the vote in the July 21 snap parliamentary elections, giving it 254 seats in the 424-member parliament, including 130 elected in single-member districts.

Servant of the People now suggests removing the committees on culture and spirituality; on family, youth policy and tourism; on veterans and people with disabilities.

It is possible that the functions of these three committees will be carried on by another committee on humanitarian and informational policy.

Servant of the People would also like to combine the committee on tax and customs policy, and the committees on financial policy and banking, into one committee on finance, tax and customs policy.

Also under the party’s plan, the committee on construction, urban planning and housing and the committee on state construction, regional police and local self-government will be merged into the committee on state construction, local self-government, regional development, urban planning and housing.

Other suggestions concern changes to the names of the already existing committees, such as the case of the committee on transport that would be called the committee on infrastructure.

The full list of the proposed committees is:

1. Committee on finance, tax and customs policy.
2. On budgetary relations.
3. On economic development.
4. On humanitarian and information policy.
5. On education, science and innovation.
6. On reintegration of temporarily occupied territories in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, de-occupation of Crimea, human rights, national minorities, inter-ethnic relations.
7. On digital transformation.
8. On legal policy.
9. On agrarian and land policy.
10. On anti-corruption policy.
11. On law enforcement.
12. On energy, housing and communal services.
13. On infrastructure.
14. On state construction, local self-government, regional development, urban planning and housing.
15. On national security, defense and intelligence.
16. On nation’s health, medical care and medical insurance.
17. On ecological policy and environmental management.
18. On freedom of speech.
19. On Regulations, parliamentary ethics and work organization of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
20. On foreign policy and inter-parliamentary cooperation.
21. On the integration of Ukraine with the European Union.
22. On social policy.

Besides the new parliamentary committees, the special control commission for privatization will continue its work within the Ukrainian Parliament.

The parliament’s preparatory meeting also determined the first ceremonial session of the new parliament. It will be held on Aug. 29.