On 3 February President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv for the EU-Ukraine summit to discuss the accession of Ukraine to the European Union, sanctions against Russia, and food crisis.
Good to be back in Kyiv, my 4th time since Russia‘s invasion.
This time, with my team of Commissioners.
We are here together to show that the EU stands by Ukraine as firmly as ever.
And to deepen further our support and cooperation. pic.twitter.com/zf8fvoNKnG
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 2, 2023
Ukraine applied for EU membership in February 2022 and was granted EU candidate status in June 2022. The EU will decide on further steps of Ukraine’s European path after the country fulfills the seven conditions obligatory to take to reform the state.
Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in an interview with Politico, said that Ukraine had set what he called an “ambitious goal” of joining the EU in two years.
During the summit, Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU urges Ukraine to continue on reforms for obtaining EU membership but sets no timeline for accession talks. Most likely, the dates depend on how quickly the country will implement seven obligations and take future steps to become an EU member, Ukrainska Pravda reported. In October Ukraine will receive an assessment on reforms, the president of the European Commission added.
Experts, who have checked the progress in implementing the list of EU recommendations in 2022-2023, say Ukraine has enforced 50% in meeting the objectives underpinning its candidate status. So, six months on, where is Ukraine now in executing each of the seven reforms?
Recommendation 1: To enact and implement legislation on a selection procedure for judges of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, including a pre-selection process based on the evaluation of their integrity and professional skills, in line with Venice Commission recommendations
The aim of the step proposed by the EU is to depoliticize the Constitutional Court by introducing a transparent selection of members for the institution. It can be achieved only if the Ukrainian government is ready to reduce its control over the court’s decisions.
On December 3, the parliament adopted a draft law on the reform of the Constitutional Court, which was promptly signed by Zelenskyy on 20 December. Moreover, the Ukrainian leader signed the law a day after the Venice Commission officially declared that the reform had not met European criteria.
The basis of the law was blurry and gave the authorities an opportunity to ignore the conclusions of the Advisory Group of Experts, which would carry out a professional evaluation of the candidates, and appoint corrupted judges.
In response, the EU called on Kyiv several times to review the adopted law. After Ukraine ignored the request, the Western partners announced that they would refuse to participate in the selection with falsified rules. Eventually, Ukrainian authorities declared changes to the complex law but didn’t fully solve the problem.
Experts who evaluate Ukraine’s progress in meeting this obligation ranked 2 points out of 10 – the worst result among 7 recommendations.
Recommendation 2: To finalize the integrity vetting of the candidates for the High Council of Justice members by the Ethics Council and the selection of candidates to establish the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine
Compared to the problematic selection of independent members for the Constitutional Court, experts say Ukraine shows progress in examining the candidates for the High Council of Justice personnel. The country received 7 points out of 10 for improvement in reforming the judicial institution as well as rebooting the High Qualification Commission of Judges.
Recommendation 3: To strengthen the fight against corruption through proactive and efficient investigations, and a credible track record of prosecutions and convictions; complete the appointment of a new head of the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office by certifying the identified winner of the competition and launch and complete the selection process and appointment for a new Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine
Ukraine has appointed a new head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, selected through a merit-based competition. In addition, the country launched investigations into the corruption of senior officials, including lawmakers and deputy ministers. In particular, Ukraine opened criminal cases against the bribed mayor of Dnipro and an organized criminal group in Odesa.
Despite being in the middle of a war, anti-corruption institutions brought to justice over 150 individuals. Ukrainian Armed Forces received $27 bn aid from the funds seized by the High Anti-Corruption Court, said Olga Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic integration.
Still, there are many tasks that the government still needs to complete to strengthen the effectiveness of anti-corruption bodies. One of them is the resumption of mandatory asset declaration filling by top officials, which was stopped during the Russian war.
Recommendation 4: To ensure that anti-money laundering legislation is in compliance with the standards of the Financial Action Task Force; adopt an overarching strategic plan for the reform of the entire law enforcement sector as part of Ukraine’s security environment
Stefanishyna said that Ukraine had already adopted three parts of anti-money-laundering legislation in line with Financial Action Task Force (FATF), including the Additional Protocol to the CoE Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism.
Moreover, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy launched the process of dismantling Ukraine’s oligarchic systems by signing the anti-oligarch law.
Currently, the country is preparing draft laws on the principles of sanctions policy and on amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure codes.
The experts who examined the implementation of this EU proposal added that insufficient attention to the amendments to the draft law on anti-money laundering had weakened the financial monitoring and eventually decreased the Ukrainian score, which is now 6 out of 10.
Recommendation 5: To implement the Anti-Oligarch law to limit the excessive influence of oligarchs in economic, political, and public life; this should be done in a legally sound manner, taking into account the forthcoming opinion of the Venice Commission on the relevant legislation
Ukraine hasn’t yet signed the anti-oligarch law due to the delay of the standards list from the Venice Commission. The EU requires Ukraine to adjust the anti-oligarchic legislation in accordance with the criteria of the Commission. However, Ukraine hasn’t received the official conclusion from the Venice Commission that would allow the beginning of the implementation.
Although experts documented changes in the oligarch system, such as the closure of Rinat Akhmetov’s media empire due to the sanctions, enactment of the recommendation is currently impossible. The rate given to Ukraine by experts is 2 points out of 10.
Recommendation 6: To tackle the influence of vested interests by adopting a media law that aligns Ukraine’s legislation with the EU audio-visual media services directive and empowers the independent media regulator
On 13 December, the Ukrainian parliament adopted a comprehensive media law, developed with the EC, the Council of Europe, and national media players, that aligned the country’s legislation with the EU audio-visual media services.
Before the second reading of the law, the standards that could weaken the mechanisms of protection of the Ukrainian language and the national cultural and informational space were also corrected. This year’s rates – 9 increased compared to 2021 when Ukraine got only 6.
Recommendation 7: To finalize the reform of the legal framework for national minorities currently under preparation as recommended by the Venice Commission, and adopt immediate and effective implementation mechanisms
Another victory of Ukraine in getting closer to the EU is adopting the draft law on national minorities.
As expected, the new law led to objections from some EU countries, primarily Hungary and Romania, which support the change of other minority laws, especially regarding the language of education. Ukraine will have to look for a compromise with them to reach a mutual understanding.
The EU acknowledged the considerable efforts that Ukraine demonstrated in recent months toward meeting the objectives underpinning its candidate status for EU membership, the EU top official said in a Joint statement following the 24th EU-Ukraine Summit.
They welcomed Ukraine’s reform efforts “in such difficult times,” and encouraged the country to continue on this path and to fulfill the conditions specified in the Commission’s opinion on its membership application to advance towards future EU membership.
Ukraine needs independent journalism. And we need you. Join our community on Patreon and help us better connect Ukraine to the world. We’ll use your contribution to attract new authors, upgrade our website, and optimize its SEO. For as little as the cost of one cup of coffee a month, you can help build bridges between Ukraine and the rest of the world, plus become a co-creator and vote for topics we should cover next. Become a patron or see other ways to support. Become a Patron!
