Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Groysman has initiated the extension of the mission of the European Parliament to assess the needs of the reform of the Ukrainian Parliament led by former EP President Pat Cox.

The European Parliament's Needs Assessment Mission will contribute to the practical implementation of the roadmap for the internal reform of the Verkhovna Rada, which was presented in Brussels, the press service of the Ukrainian parliament reported on Tuesday.

"I believe that the team of the European Parliament led by Pat Cox can be an efficient mechanism for the implementation, because it is important not just to write a plan of reforms, but to implement it," Groysman said while interacting with journalists in Brussels on Tuesday.

The Ukrainian speaker said that the European Parliament's mission under its current mandate was more of a technical mission which assessed the needs of the Verkhovna Rada and the progress of the plan. This job has been done, and now there comes the time for the second mandate for the provision of technical support, Groysman explained.

The Verkhovna Rada chairman noted that Cox expressed his interest in this initiative, supported him and the leaders of the faction of the Ukrainian parliament.

"So I think that the right solution for the continuation of this work will be found," Groysman said.

As reported, on March 1, members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and the European Parliament have endorsed the recommendations of the report of the needs assessment mission of the European Parliament, which contains a roadmap of the reform and transformation of the Ukrainian Parliament