Parliament’s lawmaking: Ukraine between the war and European integration

The side event “Parliament’s Lawmaking: Ukraine Between the War and European Integration” takes place on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, at 9:00 — 10:00 in the Bibliotheksaal on the margins of the OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting. It is organized by the Human Rights Centre ZMINA and the Netherlands Helsinki Committee.

For more than four years, Ukraine has been navigating two historic processes simultaneously: defending itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion and advancing toward European Union membership. While security and survival remain immediate priorities, European integration has also become a powerful anchor for strengthening democratic governance and the rule of law. 

EU accession requires substantial legislative alignment and institutional reform. This places significant responsibility on Parliament to adopt complex legal changes in a timely, transparent and rights-compliant manner. At the same time, wartime conditions – security risks, energy cuts, sleepless nights in the shelters, and the temporary suspension of elections under martial law – inevitably affect parliamentary procedures and workload.

This side event will examine how democratic lawmaking can remain resilient under extraordinary pressure. It will explore:

• How parliamentary procedures adapt during wartime while preserving transparency and accountability.
• What safeguards help ensure that urgent legislation remains consistent with human rights standards.
• The role of civil society in supporting legislative quality, public consultation, EU acquis alignment, and independent monitoring.

Speakers:

• Anastasiia Datsiv, European Integration Advocacy Manager, Human Rights Centre ZMINA
• Igor Kogut, Director at the Ukrainian Parliamentary Institute and Leading Specialist at the Law Faculty of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy
• Oleksandr Zaslavskyi, Deputy Executive Director for Analytics, Agency for Legislative Initiatives
• Halyna Petrenko, Director, Detector Media (online)

Moderator: 

• Dinara Gagoshidze, Programme Officer, Netherlands Helsinki Committee

Access to the event will be granted only to registered participants of the OSCE SHDM I.

Contact: Tetiana Zhukova, Human Rights Centre ZMINA, tz@zmina.ua