MOSCOW, October 26 (Itar-Tass) —— The final project of a structural reform in the Federation Council will be drafted by November 1, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko told reporters on Wednesday.
“Yesterday at the council of the upper house of parliament we distributed an intermediary variant of the structure of our house with the names of committees and their functions. We agreed to take all decisions before November 1 and begin the drafting of necessary regulating documents,” she said.
Commenting on the reaction of senators on the proposals of the reform, the speaker pledged that in the house “the mood is working and all passions subsided.” Meanwhile, she acknowledged that “many points of view” were voiced. “But it seems to me that we found a compromising variant, which suits all of us,” Matviyenko pointed out.
“Some changes in the names of committees” are envisaged at the next stage of the reform. “We realize that they should be short, but reflect the essence of work all the same,” the Federation Council speaker noted. Meanwhile, the senators will have to appoint the leadership of enlarged committees. This question will be also settled in “a coordinated, compromising decision of all senators,” Matviyenko said. “We will debate who can fulfil the functions of the committee chairpersons in the most efficient way. We have to agree in what way we will do it, either in the rating or in consultations. But in any case it will be an open and public work rather than my personal decisions,” she went on to say.
At the FC Council meeting on October 14 devoted to the internal structural reform the senators agreed on two basic issues. They decided that the Federation Council will form only ten committees (instead of current 27 committees and commissions) and their numerical strength will range from 11 to 21 members. “All colleagues, the chairpersons of committees and commissions, their deputies agreed that proceeding from our numerical strength of 166 senators it is the best variant for forming full-fledged and systemically working committees and for the equal participation of all senators in their work,” Matviyenko remarked. For no trend in the work of the current committees “be ignored and for enlarged committees to examine more seriously the problems and laws, we want to raise the status of subcommittees, which will be in charge of separate issues under general committees,” she added.
Meanwhile, the senators agreed to retain the right to form temporary parliamentary committees to examine some problems. The mission of senators in various authorities will be also kept in effect.