The Verkhovna Rada will open a representation in the European Parliament: Stefanchuk revealed the details

This was announced by the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ruslan Stefanchuk, during a meeting of the heads of foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine.

According to him, the opening of a representative office in Brussels should strengthen interparliamentary diplomacy and contribute to deepening cooperation with the institutions of the European Union.

Stefanchuk also noted that among the priorities of parliamentary diplomacy is the development of cooperation with the countries of Northern Europe and the Baltics. In particular, the Ukrainian delegation will soon pay official visits to Reykjavik and Helsinki.

In addition, Ukraine will participate as a full participant in the G7 Summit of Speakers of Parliaments, which will be held in Paris on September 10-12. Preparations are also underway for the fifth Inter-Parliamentary Forum of the Crimean Platform, scheduled for December in London.

Separately, the Speaker of the Parliament stressed that one of the main tasks remains to advance Ukraine on its path to EU membership, in particular, opening new negotiation clusters. To this end, the first official visits of the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada to Hungary and Romania in 15 years, as well as the first visit to Slovakia in eight years, are planned.

Commenting on relations with Poland, Stefanchuk stated that the Verkhovna Rada should help overcome temporary contradictions between countries, protect the rights of Ukrainians abroad, and counteract politically motivated anti-Ukrainian campaigns.

It was previously reported that Ukraine is significantly lagging behind in implementing the reforms necessary for joining the European Union. According to public experts, the level of implementation of European integration changes currently stands at only 15 out of 100 possible points.