The European Commission has published its annual EU Enlargement Report, assessing Ukraine’s progress as an EU candidate country. “Amid the challenges caused by Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine has demonstrated its strong commitment to its EU path, moving forward on key reforms, while further and steady progress is needed in the fight against corruption,” the document states.
According to the report, in the area of foreign and security policy, Ukraine confirmed the alignment of its strategic priorities with those of the EU — particularly in the synchronization of sanctions against Russia and their effective enforcement. At the same time, the Commission emphasized the importance of introducing criminal liability for sanctions evasion.
“I am particularly proud that Chapter 31 “Foreign, Security, and Defense Policy”, which is in the scope of responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, gained a high estimate. We did a great job in synchronizing the sanctions against Russia with the EU and ensuring 99% alignment with the EU’s foreign policy statements,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha.
The European Commission noted that Ukraine has made limited progress in combating corruption. The report mentions, among other issues, attempts to undermine the independence of anti-corruption institutions — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO). “Ukraine should strengthen its anti-corruption system and prevent any rollback of previous reforms. Procedural delays and obstacles in high-level corruption cases should be removed, and rules on statutes of limitation should be reviewed to align with European standards,” the report says.
Among the recommendations for Ukraine in the fight against corruption for the coming year:
- Expand NABU’s jurisdiction to cover all high-risk public positions;
- Strengthen SAPO’s autonomy to investigate Members of Parliament without prior approval by the Prosecutor General;
- Introduce robust safeguards against interference in the work of NABU and SAPO;
- Develop and adopt the Anti-Corruption Strategy and State Anti-Corruption Programme.
Photo: EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova