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European Parliament agrees to open office in Ukraine — media

The decision is aimed at establishing links between the Verkhovna Rada and the "relevant committees" of the EP and facilitating administrative work, the Euractiv portal reports

BRUSSELS, November 21. /TASS/. The European Parliament (EP) has agreed to open an office in Ukraine to strengthen support for the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) and establish its ties with the EP committees, the Euractiv news portal has reported, citing a document.

According to the document, the decision approved on Monday evening, November 20, aims to simplify relations with the Verkhovna Rada, namely, to establish its ties with the "relevant committees" of the EP and to facilitate administrative work.

According to Euractiv, the document explains that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky asked the president of the EP, Roberta Metsola, to set up a representative office in Ukraine during her visit to Lvov in March. The presence of the European Parliament office in Kiev will ensure that the EP committees are "regularly informed about ongoing issues and processes" not only in Ukraine but also in the "Eastern Partnership countries," according to the document.

Earlier, President of the European Council Charles Michel said that he expected the EU summit in December to make a positive decision on the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU.

On November 8, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced a recommendation to the EU Council to start negotiations with Moldova and Ukraine on their accession to the association and to grant Georgia the status of a candidate. Meanwhile, the recommendation to start negotiations was accompanied by an emphasis that Ukraine should fulfill a number of conditions. When asked whether there was a probability that Ukraine would join the EU at least by 2030, the European Commission head said that this process was not defined by dates.

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