European Parliament to open office in Kyiv - Euractiv

This is said in a document from the European Parliament bureau seen by Euractiv, Ukrinform reports.

It is likely to be an office in Kyiv. The decision approved on Monday evening, November 20, aims to facilitate relations with the Ukrainian parliament, particularly to connect it with the European Parliament’s “relevant committees” and to facilitate administrative work.

The bureau is a body of the European Parliament responsible for administrative decisions on the institution’s internal functioning.

According to Euractiv, the European Parliament has a liaison office for each member state, which helps Parliament’s outreach with member states, for instance, while communicating with stakeholders, organising events and having relations with local media.

According to the document, only a few European Parliament offices are established in non-European cities, according to the document, including New York, Addis Ababa and Jakarta, “where Parliament staff is seconded to the EU Delegation”.

The EU delegation in each non-EU country is the diplomatic representation of the EU in the territory, under the European External Action Service (EEAS).

European Parliament President Roberta Metsola has been consistently vocal in supporting Ukraine since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Last year, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize for freedom of speech to the Ukrainian people and its leader, President Volodymyr Zelensky.

As reported by Ukrinform, on November 8, the European Commission recommended that the European Council open negotiations on Ukraine and Moldova’s accession to the EU. She also recommended, under certain conditions, that such negotiations are launched with Bosnia and Herzegovina and the status of a candidate country be granted to Georgia.

In December 2023, the European Council is expected to consider the issue of launching negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

President of the European Council Charles Michel arrived in Kyiv on Tuesday with an unannounced visit. Germany’s Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Moldova’s President Maia Sandu also visited Kyiv.