13:19 15.09.2021

Razumkov: Sending bill on de-oligarchization to Venice Commission isn't an obstacle to its adoption

3 min read
Razumkov: Sending bill on de-oligarchization to Venice Commission isn't an obstacle to its adoption

Presence of a draft law on de-oligarchisation on examination at the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) is not an obstacle to its consideration at the second reading in parliament, said Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Dmytro Razumkov.

"If the bill is ready for consideration and the committee and factions of the Verkhovna Rada insist on it, yes, it will be submitted to the session hall, as prescribed by the Rules of Procedure. If there is another opinion expressed by colleagues ... I will accept both the first and the second options. I have no restrictions on including it on the agenda due to the fact that it was sent to the Venice Commission," Razumkov said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

According to the speaker of parliament, the most independent structure, and not the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), should determine who exactly belongs to the oligarchs. At the same time, he stressed that when preparing the bill, one should not forget about constitutional norms.

"The NSDC does not have the function of recognizing this or that person as someone. In the same way, it will border on the powers of other members of the NSDC. So as we don't have another situation as with the law on the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU): after a certain period of time, the Constitutiona l Court will tell its position, and we will not be looked upon very good both inside the state and outside it," said the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.

Razumkov recalled that he had submitted his amendments for the second reading of the bill.

"I think that it is up to an independent commission, elected on a competitive basis, working on a voluntary basis, to decide who is an oligarch. There will not be such a heavy workload; there are not so many people in the country that can be objectively categorized as oligarchs. And such a commission could work under the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) - not subordinated to the NAPC, but along with the NAPC," the speaker of the parliament concluded.

Answering the question whether he feels the influence of the oligarchs on the Verkhovna Rada, Razumkov said: "As the head of the Verkhovna Rada, I had no communication with representatives of big business, who can be attributed to the so-called oligarchs, where pressure was put on me or I was asked about something, and even more so for some profits. This didn't happen, and, I hope, will not happen. Why? Maybe, because they understand what the answer will be."

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