Legislative Priorities of the 14th Session of the Verkhovna Rada: An Overview by the ALI

The 14th session of the Verkhovna Rada of the 9th convocation has begun. The start of each parliamentary season always renews expectations of MPs — both regarding new draft laws and legislative initiatives whose consideration has been suspended or has stalled altogether for various reasons and factors.

However, the postponement of strategically important draft laws cannot be blurred into an abstract ‘not the right time’. So which initiatives should MPs consider first?

The Government’s Programme of Activities is the main document for planning state policy. It forms the basis for the Government’s medium-term action plans (for a three-year period) and its priority action plans (for a period of up to one year). The adoption of such a Programme should not be perceived as a mere formality: this document occupies a central place in the entire structure of Ukraine’s state policy and is an important component of parliamentary oversight. In its absence, it is in fact impossible to assess the Government’s performance, since there are no goals or objectives against which this can be done. Indeed, we already have such a precedent: in 2020, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal presented his Programme of Activities, which the Verkhovna Rada sent for revision, but which was never approved. Thus, the previous Government operated without an adopted Programme for more than five years.

On 18 August 2025, Prime Minister of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko, together with members of the Cabinet of Ministers, presented the Draft Programme of Action of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for 2025–2026. But the presentation itself is not enough. The Draft must now be submitted to Parliament for consideration — that is, either to be approved or rejected.

The Agency for Legislative Initiatives was involved in the development of this draft law — it is currently under review by the Committee on Social Policy and Protection of Veterans’ Rights. At this stage, however, it is important to continue working on improving its provisions, discussing and refining them. First, because there are indeed many problems accumulated in the sphere of veteran policy, and they are often systemic in nature, which means that solutions should not be piecemeal but comprehensive.

Work on the draft law needs to be resumed, since oversight of the security and defence sector makes it possible to ensure the rule of law, legality, accountability and transparency of the institutions of the security and defence sector.

The need to adopt an ethical code is highlighted by each successive scandal involving Members of Parliament. Moreover, holding individual MPs to account, whose behaviour discredits the only legislative body of Ukraine, is critically important for restoring its credibility. One need only recall July of this year, when certain MPs outraged the public with their undisguised joy after the vote on Draft Law No. 12414.

Such a code should define the rules of conduct for Members of Parliament in the plenary chamber, in other working bodies of Parliament and, importantly, outside it. The need to adopt an ethical code has been raised since 2016 — in particular, it is one of the recommendations of the Roadmap on Parliamentary Reform. A draft resolution is already before the Verkhovna Rada: at the end of 2022, Draft Law No. 8327 was registered, which is intended to modernise the current rules of parliamentary ethics and create an effective system for their implementation. This will not only separate out unworthy manifestations of behaviour by individual MPs but will also be one of the steps towards increasing trust in Parliament.

Improving the procedures for adapting Ukraine’s legislation to the European Union acquis is one of the key directions of Ukraine’s European integration course. This is important above all for monitoring and screening the reforms being implemented by Ukraine, as mentioned in the recommendations and Roadmaps from the European Union.

Continuing work on the draft law that brings legislation closer in the context of negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU must remain in the focus of the Verkhovna Rada and be supported at the level of all parliamentary Committees without exception.

The draft law is intended to reinstate the mandatory competition for appointment to the position of prosecutor in prosecution offices of all levels, conducted by the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Prosecutors (QDCP). It also proposes to repeal other negative changes introduced by Law No. 4555-IX: granting the Prosecutor General oversight powers, bypassing the independent prosecutor-procedural supervisor in criminal proceedings, and providing additional grounds for dismissing ‘disloyal’ prosecutors through structural changes.

Among other things, the draft law provides for measures to improve the operation of criminal justice bodies, primarily of anti-corruption specialisation.

The Agency for Legislative Initiatives consistently supports the introduction of the Legislative Impact Assessment tool in the law-making activity of the Ukrainian Parliament, in particular, helping to integrate it into the work of parliamentary Committees and the Secretariat of the Verkhovna Rada. This is a structured tool through which the future consequences and likely impacts of proposed decisions can be identified and assessed.

Impact Assessment is mentioned in the Roadmap on Public Administration Reform and the Roadmap on the Functioning of Democratic Institutions, which was created in preparation for negotiations with the European Union on concluding the Agreement on Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Conducting an Impact Assessment is also required by the Law of Ukraine ‘On Lawmaking’, adopted in 2023. But since the Law will take effect one year after martial law is lifted, Parliament has so far been in no hurry to apply the tool of Legislative Impact Assessment systematically, and it still remains ad hoc. Nevertheless, understanding the principles and practice of applying Impact Assessment is important for everyone involved in developing legislation, especially in the context of continuing parliamentary reform.    

The organisation of recruitment for civil service positions remains one of the most problematic areas in public administration. At the same time, the draft law provides for the phased resumption of competitions for civil service positions, which is critically important for relaunching the process of renewing staff in the public sector.

It was developed as an alternative to the government draft, which was withdrawn due to the change in the composition of the Government.

More on what this draft law seeks to address is noted by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives in its infobrief on the issue of a politically neutral civil service.

The draft law concerns problems that require urgent resolution at the legislative level, and delaying its consideration is truly unacceptable. At present, the draft law is under review in the relevant Committee and requires further refinement, but its adoption is very important for adapting the state secrets protection system to wartime conditions.

In particular, the draft law regulates such issues as:

• speeding up, during martial law, the classification of information as state secrets;
• revising approaches to the functioning of the clearance system (risk-based approach);
• updating the mechanisms of information exchange between bodies during security checks related to clearance for state secrets and the granting of special permits for activities connected with state secrets.

This draft law grants the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) the authority to develop and submit to the President of Ukraine and the Government draft regulatory acts on matters within the competence of the SSU.

It was adopted as a basis at first reading in April 2025, and there are no critical comments on the content of the draft law. Therefore, its final adoption must also be a priority since it will contribute to the preparation of timely decisions, particularly in ensuring the protection of state secrets.

During the war, Ukraine faces systemic threats and heightened enemy interest in information constituting state secrets — and therefore delaying the adoption of these draft laws, which is certainly not in the interests of the state.

The advancement of the initiatives listed above in Parliament is important for timely responses to all the challenges Ukraine faces under martial law. An updated agenda makes it possible to focus on priority tasks and not postpone important decisions ‘for later’, when the issue will become acute and inevitably require an immediate response.