The Verkhovna Rada may open representative offices abroad: Stefanchuk initiated a new bill

The Verkhovna Rada has registered draft law No. 16167, which provides for the possibility of establishing permanent representations of the Ukrainian Parliament to the institutions of the European Union and international organizations. The first such representation may be the Verkhovna Rada office to the European Parliament.

What does draft law No. 16167 provide for

The document was registered on October 19, 2026. Its initiators were the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk, First Deputy Chairman of the Parliament Oleksandr Kornienko, and Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratyuk.

The draft law proposes to legislatively regulate the mechanism for establishing permanent parliamentary representations outside Ukraine.

In particular, it is assumed that the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada will receive the authority to make decisions on the opening of such representations to:

European Union institutions;

international organizations;

parliamentary bodies of international organizations.

The corresponding representations will be able to function within the system of bodies of the diplomatic service of Ukraine.

Who will manage the representations of the Verkhovna Rada

According to the legislative initiative, it is proposed to grant key organizational powers to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada.

In particular, the Speaker of the Parliament will be able to:

make decisions on the establishment of representations;
approve regulations on their activities;
determine the organizational structure;
set the maximum number of employees.

The authors of the document believe that the establishment of such institutions will contribute to the development of interparliamentary cooperation and the strengthening of the Verkhovna Rada’s participation in international processes.

Will the opening of representations require additional budget funds?

The draft law pays special attention to the financing of future representations.

According to the explanatory note, their activities are planned to be provided with funds already provided in the state budget for the functioning of the Verkhovna Rada.

The authors of the draft law claim that the implementation of the initiative will not require additional expenditures from the state budget of Ukraine.

Thus, the establishment of representations is proposed to be carried out within the existing funding of the parliament.

Why does Ukraine need a representation at the European Parliament

The main goal of the initiative is to deepen cooperation between the Ukrainian parliament and European institutions.

According to the authors of the document, a permanent representation will ensure systematic interaction between the Verkhovna Rada and the European Parliament, in particular on issues of European integration.

We will remind, on September 17, 2025, the President of the European Parliament Roberta Metzola opened a permanent representation of the European Parliament in Ukraine during her visit to Kyiv.

At that time, she emphasized the continued support of Ukraine from European partners, in particular on issues of post-war reconstruction.

The establishment of a Ukrainian parliamentary representation at the European Parliament could be the next step in the development of bilateral institutional cooperation.

What stage is the bill at?

Currently, bill No. 16167 has been submitted for consideration to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Rules of Procedure, Parliamentary Ethics and Organization of Parliamentary Work.

The document has yet to go through the established legislative procedure.