Ukraine receives conclusions on two draft laws necessary for EU accession
Ruslan Stefanchuk, Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament), announced on 1 November that he had received conclusions from European partners on draft laws on media and on national minorities. The adoption of these laws is one of the requirements for continuing the dialogue with the EU on accession.
Source: European Pravda, citing Interfax-Ukraine.
Details: "Just today we received a definite, let's say, decision on the draft media law, and we received a definitive conclusion on the draft national minorities law. We are waiting for the Venice Commission’s response to the draft law on judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine," Stefanchuk said during the national 24/7 newscast.
The speaker of the Verkhovna Rada recalled that by the end of the year, it intends to adopt the laws needed to fulfil seven requirements for Ukraine to retain European Union candidate status and to begin negotiations on full membership.
Background: On 30 August, the Verkhovna Rada adopted the law "On Media" No. 2693-D at first reading, after it had been given a positive assessment by the EU. The Ukrainian opposition criticised the document as destroying the mechanisms, already provided for by current laws, for protecting the Ukrainian language and the national cultural and information sphere.
In an interview with European Pravda, Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for the European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, expressed confidence that this law would be adopted, because "even those Members of Parliament who are not ready to vote right now have no doubt that the adoption of the law is necessary".
As for the draft national minorities law, Stefanchuk said earlier that it complies with all the EU directives and provides for the replacement of the term "national minority" with the term "national community", which "encompasses national minorities and indigenous peoples".
Ruslan Stefanchuk had previously stated that by the end of autumn 2022, the parliament and other bodies relevant to European integration would be able to fulfil the requirements for starting negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union.
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