Zelenskyy vetoes bill fining ministers for ignoring Parliament, citing constitutional concerns and excessive powers, despite repeated cases of officials skipping summonses without explanation.
Zelenskyy Blocks Bill That Would Fine Ministers for Defying Parliament.
At the beginning of September, the Verkhovna Rada passed draft law No. 11387, which imposes fines of 13,000 to 17,000 UAH on ministers and officials who ignore parliamentary summonses without valid reasons (229 votes in favor).
However, today, October 6, the president returned the draft law with his veto. The arguments:
- failure to appear before Parliament “does not constitute an administrative offense”;
- risk of excessive power for the staff of the Verkhovna Rada in determining “valid reasons”;
- mechanisms to control the Cabinet of Ministers already exist in the Constitution, the Rules of Procedure, and other laws (parliamentary inquiries, votes of no confidence).
According to CHESNO, during 2024–2025, the Rada summoned at least 21 officials, mostly ministers. Only half of them appeared, while the rest ignored the invitations even without providing explanations.
The reasons for not attending varied. In some cases, the invited officials justified their absence by saying they were on business trips or had work meetings. For example, in April 2024, the Parliament summoned then-Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov and the head of the Agency for the Restoration and Development of Infrastructure, Mustafa Nayyem, to discuss the protection of critical infrastructure from Russian attacks.
The initiator of the summons, MP Dmytro Razumkov, insisted that the Infrastructure Ministry officials appear before the Rada within the next two hours. However, Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk later announced that they would not attend because they were on a business trip.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin also once ignored a parliamentary summons. Lawmakers called him to appear amid a scandal involving the luxury property of his deputy, Dmytro Verbytskyi. Instead, Kostin sent a letter to the Rada explaining that he considered it “appropriate to postpone the discussion” while an internal investigation was ongoing.
Former Energy Minister and current Justice Minister Herman Halushchenko twice ignored parliamentary summonses — first in August 2024, when MPs called him to explain a corruption case in the Energy Ministry after his deputy was detained for a $500,000 bribe. He commented on the issue only six months later, in January 2025, admitting there had been “isolated cases of corruption.” When summoned again in June 2025 to report on preparations for the heating season, he appeared before Parliament a day late.
A similar situation occurred with former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, who often skipped government Q&A sessions. In June 2025, the Rada summoned him over problems with fortifications, but he did not appear, citing the lack of a specific date and time in the invitation, and never showed up in Parliament.
Some officials limit their attendance to the Coordination Council, where parliamentary leadership and faction heads are present, and do not appear at full plenary sessions before all MPs. For example, in December 2024, the Rada summoned Rustem Umerov over a scandal involving the purchase of defective mines, but he attended only a two-hour meeting with parliamentary leadership, citing a busy schedule. Similarly, Security Service Chief Vasyl Malyuk and acting Prosecutor General Oleksiy Khomenko were summoned over the activities of pro-Russian parties but participated only in the Coordination Council, while Malyuk later failed to appear for a summons regarding the wiretapping of Bihus.Info journalists.
At the same time, officials who regularly respond to parliamentary summonses include Education Minister Oksen Lisovyi, Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko, and former Social Policy Minister Oksana Zholnovych. Former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal answered MPs’ questions during the government’s Friday Q&A sessions.
It should be noted that among the authors of the vetoed draft law was the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk. The document initially concerned ensuring respect for the court, but MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak from “Holos” added amendments regarding fines for ministers, some of which were partially adopted by the committee. He proposed adding fines for all officials who fail to appear before Parliament. He suggested significantly higher amounts — from 42,500 to 59,500 UAH, and up to 68,000 UAH for repeated offenses within a year. The relevant committee partially adopted his proposal, slightly reducing the size of the fines.
According to media reports, the adoption of the draft law was a consequence of the scandal involving NABU/SAPO, when the Verkhovna Rada became a scapegoat due to passing a law that limited the independence of anti-corruption agencies.
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