PM: The will of the people through a referendum must determine a new Ukrainian Constitution

"The country needs a new Constitution. I consider principal provisions of the Ukrainian Constitution should be approved at a referendum," stressed Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk during a conference call with the leaders of the regions on Tuesday, March 24.

The Head of Government reminded that the first stage of budget decentralization had finished. Regarding political decentralization, the President of Ukraine adopted a decision to establish a Constitutional Commission headed by the Chairman of the Parliament of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.

"The Government is doing its own piece of work that concerns primarily budget decentralization. In the aftermath the President, the Parliament and the Government, in synergy with the Ukrainian people and basing solely on the will of the people of Ukraine, in the shortest possible terms, shall write a new European Ukrainian Constitution," he stressed.

"The will of the people through a referendum must determine a new Ukrainian Constitution," he said.

According to Arseniy Yatsenyuk, the new basic law should include "both additional powers for the regions and additional responsibility for them”: "The new Constitution will settle an issue of the balance of power, determine a new high quality European-like and transparent judiciary system, a public prosecution system, a system of bodies to curb corruption".

The PM emphasized in the framework of the activities of the Constitutional Commission considerable amount of work would be fulfilled by the regional state administrations: "It is crucial to afford Ukrainian people saying "Yes" to the new Ukrainian Constitution. It is necessary to gather round table discussions, it is necessary to talk to people, to familiarize them with the views and to hear the opinions of people."