Premier welcomes resumption of Verkhovna Rada's work

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov hails the resumption of the parliament's work after a protracted stalemate.

Opening the government's regular Wednesday meeting, Azarov said, "Yesterday, at last, four months after the election, the parliament started working. The government hails the resumption of lawmaking work and hopes for fruitful cooperation with the parliament. We must not waste the precious time in the extremely complicated economic situation. Our economy is like a ship in a stormy sea and the crew must set aside all disputes and work as one." The Prime Minister praised the government for successful steps toward signing the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. In particular, according to him, the government has secured new financial assistance from the EU and has approved a plan of immediate steps to improve election legislation and reform the system of monitoring and control of public finance management. "In the nearest time the government is going to table in parliament draft bills on reforming the State Penal and Execution Service and on amendments to the Customs Tariffs. The government also plans to review the implementation of the national energy strategy and approve a new concept of communication with the public on topical issues of European integration," Azarov said.