Stefanchuk Proposes Establishing a Permanent Mission of the Verkhovna Rada to the European Parliament

Bill No. 16167, which provides for the establishment of a permanent mission of the Ukrainian parliament to the European Parliament, has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada. The bill was introduced by Parliament Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk and his deputies, Oleksandr Kornienko and Olena Kondratyuk.

 

The bill was registered on October 19, 2026. Its purpose is to establish a legal framework for the creation of a Verkhovna Rada delegation to the European Parliament.

The bill provides that the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada will be able to make decisions on the establishment of parliamentary delegations to European Union institutions, international organizations, and their parliamentary bodies. Such delegations may operate within the framework of Ukraine’s diplomatic service.

In addition, the Speaker of Parliament will approve the regulations governing the representative office, determine its structure, and set the maximum number of staff members. Funding for the new representative office will come from funds already allocated in the state budget for the activities of the Verkhovna Rada. As noted in the explanatory memorandum, the implementation of the bill will not require additional expenditures from the state budget.

The authors of the document justify the need to establish the representative office by citing the deepening of Ukraine’s cooperation with the European Union and the Verkhovna Rada’s participation in European integration processes.

The bill has now been referred to the relevant Verkhovna Rada committee on Rules of Procedure, Deputy Ethics, and the Organization of Parliamentary Work for consideration.

Earlier, the Rada passed a law on the taxation of packages from abroad.

Parcels from abroad may become more expensive due to the new VAT.

The relevant committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported the revised bill amending the Tax and Customs Codes. The proposed changes could affect Ukrainians’ purchases on popular online marketplaces.