Receiving theses from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine before business trips abroad is not an attempt to limit their activities, but will contribute to the implementation of the one voice principle in public policy in the international arena, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Ruslan Stefanchuk said.

"The issue of receiving theses from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has caused a great flurry of discussions. I would like to remind you that during the period of martial law, one voice from the state is very important. And those who criticize this, going on a business trip, still receive such theses, because this is government policy. Of course, you can say whatever you want on your own, but on the main issues (weapons, finances, assistance to Ukraine, rehabilitation support) we all have to speak with one voice. And that is why such theses should be provided. And this is right, because we, as the state of Ukraine, are one team at the international level," Stefanchuk said in an exclusive interview with the Interfax–Ukraine agency, commenting on the changes in the order regarding the business trips of deputies abroad that have come into force.

According to him, these are "elementary requirements" (existing in many parliaments), which the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine brings to "appropriate standards", which will allow for effective activities.

"To begin with, the order clearly stipulates that the MP must receive these theses or coordinate his own in order to have one voice. If a deputy acts apart from the position of Ukraine, does such a deputy have the right to represent parliament in international relations? I have big doubts. Moreover, I want to emphasize that a business trip is one of the components of inter–parliamentary activity. And when a deputy represents the Parliament of Ukraine, then on his behalf he should say what the Ukrainian people need today, and not pursue any business interests of his own. Again, we have established such a flexible norm in the order, because we understand that the Foreign Ministry cannot dictate to parliament, but the main provisions, the basic one voice on state policy should be supported by everyone who represents Ukraine abroad," the speaker explained.

At the same time, he stressed that the effectiveness of interparliamentary activities is its priority.

"The Parliament of the 9th convocation has something to present to the Ukrainian society in terms of interparliamentary diplomacy. These are issues related to the decisions of the parliaments of the countries of the world to support Ukraine, to provide financial assistance, and weapons. This is a great job of the parliamentary assemblies. This is making decisions on sanctions against the aggressor, on recognizing [Russia] as an aggressor state. These issues are related to the support of the Peace Formula, the Crimea Platform. These are the Holodomor issues: in two years we have managed to double the number of parliaments that recognized the Holodomor as genocide, and we are talking about parliaments that they said they would never do this. Yes, I have something to present to the Ukrainian society about the work of this parliament. But is it perfect? Of course not. Therefore, after analyzing how we carried out parliamentary activities over the previous period, it became necessary to make some adjustments from January 1," Stefanchuk said.

According to him, in addition to the provisions concerning the theses from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the updated order also provides that deputies will not be able to independently extend the number of days of a business trip: now it will be clearly regulated, because "they must go, fulfill their mission and turn back."

At the same time, according to the order of the head of the Verkhovna Rada, before going on a business trip abroad, parliamentarians undertake to present its plan indicating the results with which he plans to return to Ukraine. Stefanchuk also emphasized that deputies will not be able to "declare one business trip, but go to another country, because it is more interesting there."

"Next, we have a number of issues related to the reports. Perhaps some business trips are so productive that there is nothing to report on. But at the same time, I want to remind you that such reports are a requirement of the law on the status of a deputy," the chairman of the Ukrainian parliament added.

As reported, on January 1, 2024, amendments to the order of the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada No. 806 dated December 30, 2022 "On certain issues of the procedure for registration of business trips abroad by Members of Parliament of Ukraine under martial law" came into force.

The updated decree provides, in particular, that parliamentarians, before the start of such business trips, will have to receive official explanations from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine regarding the foreign policy course of the state or the theses of official statements and comments of an MP agreed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in order to implement state policy in the field of foreign relations on issues related to the topic of business trips abroad.