The work of parliamentary committees is not conditioned by the dynamics of plenary sessions and we point out that it is especially important that parliamentary committees initiate comprehensive discussion of acts that are in the parliamentary procedure.
All working bodies have been passive in the period when disagreements on how to end the current political crisis blocked the plenary work and kick-off of the regular spring session of the Parliament.
It is unacceptable that parliamentary committees do not fulfill their duties prescribed by the Rules of Procedure and do not consider regular reports and draft laws that are in the parliamentary procedure.
In the previous year as well, occasional boycotts and passivity of the committees led to situations in which accumulated issues were decided in a short period of time. This had a negative impact on the quality of bills and analysis of their financial and overall impact.
Moreover, the implementation of the Programme “Europe Now“ requires additional parliamentary oversight, especially considering that it has been already a quarter of the year since the Programme started implementation. MPs have earlier pointed out the risks posed by new legal solutions. Global events caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine can shift the earlier prognosis of the effects of the reforms covered by the Programme. It is up to the MPs, who voted for laws that enabled Programme’s implementation, to request all information on the effects and challenges during the Programme’s implementation.
We remind you that, besides the proposal of the Law on Amendments to the Law on Excise, other laws of importance to citizens are currently in the parliamentary procedure. The blockade and postponement of the plenary work of the Parliament should not be an excuse for these acts not to be discussed in the committees and not to analyze their effects on the position of different social groups and on the state budget.
Milena Muk
Institute Alternative
