Senior members of the upper house of the Russian parliament approved Friday a proposal from newly appointed Speaker Valentina Matviyenko to slash the number of committees, the speaker’s press service said on Saturday.
“In a bid to improve the work of the Federation Council, Valentina Matvienko proposed cutting the number of committees and commissions … from 27 to 10,” the press service said, adding that each committee should now have from 11 to 21 members.
She said all the committees would be equal in status, and all the areas of their work would remain untouched. The upper house will retain the right to set up temporary commissions on the most acute issues.