A team of the EUACI participated in the URC 2025, held in Rome on 10-11 July. The event – co-hosted by Italy and Ukraine – brought together high-level international partners, government representatives, businesses, civil society and many more to discuss the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine.
It was an impressive event. Strong expressions of support to Ukraine from many parts of the world. Many agreements were signed and new cooperation arrangements were launched, including EU4Reconstruction – a new big EU program with a Danish pillar that will be closely connected to the EUACI’s work in this field. In the words of one participant – “this was the annual PR campaign for Ukraine and it went just as it should”.
In the margins, during side-events and between the official meetings networking and dialogue activities took place that also focused on challenges and developments of concern, including in the field of anti-corruption.
The EUACI supported the participation of partners from government institutions, anti-corruption bodies, local authorities (Poltava, Mykolaiv, Chernivtsi, Zhytomyr and Steptitsky) and civil society organisations who would not otherwise be able to participate. And we were actively engaged throughout the URC. We had a joint stand with the School Nutrition Reform Team to raise awareness as to our project to reduce corruption risks during the construction of school canteens. We provided logistical support to the Agency of Reconstruction. The Head of the EUACI moderated a panel on transparency and accountability in the reconstruction process.
On the last day of the URC, the EUACI co-hosted a side-event together with the Embassy of Denmark in Rome, the OECD and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. We called it “After Hours, Before the Future: Anti-Corruption on Ukraine’s EU Track — What Comes Next?”. The event became a platform for an open dialogue between Ukrainian and international participants on the next steps and challenges in implementing anti-corruption reforms and preparing for EU membership, including through the Rule of Law Road Map and anti-corruption mainstreaming.
