The heads of the committees of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's Parliament) and the European Parliament will hold the first ever joint meeting of parliamentary bodies on Wednesday, 12 April.

This was announced by the European Parliament on Tuesday evening.

The joint meeting of Ukrainian and European MPs will be held in a hybrid format and will be devoted to the exchange of views on the nature and challenges of the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU.

"The purpose of Wednesday’s kick-off meeting is to bring together the chairpersons of the committees of the European Parliament and the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to discuss the path ahead for Ukraine with regard to the country’s EU accession process, as well as to show solidarity with Kyiv, which is still battling the Russian invasion," the European Parliament said.

The event will be opened by President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola and Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Ruslan Stefanchuk.

After that, the participants will participate in two panels for discussion: "Rebuilding a European Ukraine" and "Building a sustainable future together."

MEPs and their Ukrainian colleagues will discuss a number of issues related to the process of Ukraine's accession to the EU, in particular, economic policy, the rule of law, the fight against corruption and budget control, as well as bringing Ukrainian laws in line with EU legislation and the implementation of EU legislation.

"At the opening session, participants are also expected to look at how they can deepen bilateral relations further between the committees of their respective institutions," the European Parliament added.

In January, the media wrote about a proposal to allow Ukrainian politicians to participate in the work of the European Parliament in one form or another  – for example, as qn additional delegation with the status of observer.