INTER PARES Partnership with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

Priority 1

Supporting the enhanced quality and efficiency of the VRU’s role in the process of European integration - Activities: 

• Exchange of comparative experience and models for parliamentary engagement in the legislative processes entailed in European Union integration.
• Comparative assessment of the roles played by government and parliament in different EU countries on the EU legislative agenda.
• Establishment of a platform for continuing dialogue and exchange on EU parliaments’ approaches to the initial and continuing harmonisation of EU acquis into national legislation.
• Exposure to comparative roles of EU Affairs Committees (especially their functioning during the process of EU accession) within EU national parliaments as well as divisions of responsibility between EU Affairs Сommittees and subject committees in consideration of EU legislation concordance
• Exchange of practices of EU national parliaments on EU acquis concordance requirements for legislative proposals to be registered for parliamentary consideration.
• Exposure to comparative organizational models of the parliamentary secretariats to support EU legal harmonisation.
• Comparative assessment of the role of parliaments in EU accession negotiations: responsibilities, models and relationships with government.
• Exchange of experience in creating national digital databases on integration (accession) to the EU, including the parliaments’ access to the documents of negotiations between the government and the European Commission (to be carried out with the involvement of relevant government institutions).
• Exchange of practices of EU national parliaments on legal harmonisation of national tax legislation with EU law.

Priority 2

Strengthening parliament’s role in the budget process including development of a Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) - Activities:

• Exposure to, and dialogue with European Union national parliament PBOs and similar specialised units (focus on organisational structure, staffing and operational budget)
• Exchange and dialogue on the options for assuring the autonomy and integrity of the PBO.
• Support in the development of the legislative and regulatory framework, ToRs, and SOPs of the proposed Parliamentary Budget Office

Priority 3

Code of ethics for MPs - Activities:

• Exchange with EU national parliaments on their ethics codes, as well as enforcement regimes and harmonisation with national anti-corruption legislation

Priority 4

Enhancing parliament’s research and analytical capacity - Activities:

• Sharing and exposure to the models used in different EU national parliaments for research services, including organization of research services, division of research activities between different parliamentary structures, services (deliverables) provided to MPs and other parliamentary actors, SOPs etc.
• Exposure to the range of training programming provided to MPs and parliamentary secretariat through parliamentary research services.
• Exchange with legal and scientific departments of EU Member State Parliaments on mandates, organization, services provided including exchange of experience on law-making including legislative drafting techniques and practice (In particular, examine EUMS parliaments’ normative or methodological materials in the field of law-making).

Priority 5

Parliamentary civil service - Activities:

• Exchange and dialogue with different EU national parliaments on comparative approaches to parliamentary civil service, regulatory requirements, alignment with national civil service regulations.
• Exchange between HR departments of EU national parliaments on HR services provided, recruitment modalities, career planning, HRD approaches, compliance with national legislation, etc.

Priority 6

Foresight - Activities:

• Provide opportunities for participation of VRU in the global network of parliamentary committees for the future.
• Exchange of comparative models within and beyond the EU for the incorporation of a foresight-based approach to both legislation and parliamentary oversight.

Priority 7

Post-Legislative Scrutiny - Activities:

• Provide exposure to PLS models within EU national parliaments, including legal basis, definitions, methodological approaches, operational budgets for PLS, engaged staff.
• Support inter-parliamentary dialogue on PLS approaches, best practices, and secretariat support required to operationalize an effective PLS strategy.