Parliamentary committees being open to the public is a requirement for Ukraine’s accession to the EU and the presence of reporters at the meetings should become a barrier to misconduct by MPs, said Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech, while commenting to the Institute of Mass Information journalist Valentyna Troyan on the entry into force of the bill granting the media and the public access to Verkhovna Rada committee meetings.
He stressed that allowing the media to resume working with Verkhovna Rada committees is not a mere formality but a matter of national security and democratic oversight.
“I believe that journalists will be a safeguard against absurd decisions or deputies who still have some influence on the parliament life, joining meetings from London or Dubai while being prosecuted in Ukraine. If this happens, the public has the right to know about it from the media,” the MP believes.
Yurchyshyn said that the amendments aim to “go back to normal, pre-Covid ways of reporting on the Rada and committees” and to strengthen Ukraine’s position on the path to the European Union.
Although the new bill does not include a list of penalties, Yurchyshyn advises media professionals to use existing laws to protect their rights.
“The bill opening up the committees does not mention penalties, so the general regulations on access to information may apply. You can cite Article 57 of the law on parliamentary committees. That article stipulates that MPs must be held accountable for refusing to provide information, deliberately withholding it or creating arbitrary obstacles,” he explained.
The committee chairman dismissed the arguments that his colleagues may potentially make about restricting access to meetings due to “poor Internet connection” or equipment malfunctioning.
“Some of our work has been done online since the Covid year 2020, so I will not believe it if someone seeks to use a committee’s poor technical capabilities as an excuse. Even if there are temporary difficulties in receiving journalists in person, any committee can easily arrange online meetings and comply with the Bill’s requirements this way,” said the MP.
Yaroslav Yurchyshyn added that if “poor Internet connection” becomes consistently cited as a reason for denying access to media workers, he will “have a talk with those who continue to hide from journalists separately.”
Monitoring the publication of agendas and livestreams has been entrusted to the Verkhovna Rada Apparatus, as well as the Regulations Committee and the Freedom of Speech Committee. The latter is ready to defend journalists in case their rights are violated.
“We were a major initiator of this Bill in the Rada and are ready to bear responsibility and look for solutions together if something goes wrong. If there is not enough personal communication and there are serious and systemic violations against the media, we can turn to the Rada’s staff and leadership,” Yaroslav Yurchyshyn concluded.
Bill No. 4212–IX, which makes the work of the Verkhovna Rada committees open for the media and the public, entered into force on 20 January 2026. Lawyers at the Institute of Mass Information were involved in the development of amendments to this bill. The provisions include mandatory livestreams of committee meetings. Video recordings of the meetings must be available within 24 hours after their conclusion and remain freely accessible indefinitely.
