Draft bill #10113 of October 4, 2023
Cosponsors: a group of 15 MPs from the European Solidarity and Servant of the People factions and For the Future group
Status: submitted to the Verkhovna Rada
Who is affected: diplomats and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Summary of the bill:
- the Minister of Foreign Affairs will have to get approval on candidates for diplomatic posts from the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Interparliamentary Cooperation
- approval procedure will apply to the appointment of:
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine
- Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine with residence in Kyiv
- Permanent Representative of Ukraine to an international organization
- Representative of Ukraine to an international organization
- Head of the Mission of Ukraine to an international organization.
What is right:
- the Parliament will exercise parliamentary control over foreign policy
- the process of appointing to diplomatic posts will be more transparent
- there will be less reputational damage caused by the appointment of unqualified or dishonest candidates.
What is wrong: the requirement to get approval from the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Interparliamentary Cooperation violates the Constitution: committees of the Verkhovna Rada cannot have independent powers.
Alternative solution: the idea to introduce a procedure for the candidates for diplomatic posts to be evaluated by the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Interparliamentary Cooperation should be considered. However, the Committee can only make recommendations regarding these candidates. The decision of whether to appoint a person to a position or not is the prerogative of the President.