On 28 September, the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (the EUACI) held a Steering Committee Meeting in Kyiv. Representatives of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions, High Anti-Corruption Court, Parliament, the Ministry of Restoration and the Agency of Restoration, civil society partners and investigative journalists and Integrity Cities discussed challenges and opportunities in the fight against corruption. The meeting was chaired by Ukraine’s Minister of Justice Denis Maliuska and the Ambassador of Denmark Ole Egberg Mikkelsen. The EU was represented by Deputy Head of the EU Delegation, Remi Duflot.
The Steering Committee discussed prevention of and combatting corruption in the light of the reconstruction process, EU-integration and resilience of the anti-corruption infrastructure.
The meeting took stock of the ongoing work of EUACI’s partners and acknowledged the significant progress despite the difficult circumstances during times of war. The tolerance of corrupt behavior had decreased considerably and Ukrainians and international partners expect Ukrainian authorities to do even more to prevent and combat corruption.
The meeting welcomed recent developments, including the approval of the State Anti-Corruption Program, and noted the restoration of the important e-declaration system with public access to its register. It acknowledged the significant increase in the number of high-level corruption cases opened, processed and forwarded to the High Anti-Corruption Court. The number of verdicts had reached more than 140. It stressed the importance of digitalizing the criminal procedures through the eCase Management System.
The meeting appreciated the efforts of the Ministry and the Agency of Restoration to ensure that the restoration process could be transparent and accountable taking into account the many corruption risks. The funding mechanism for reconstruction projects should meet the highest standards for minimizing corruption risks and provide transparent decision-making processes.
It appreciated the active engagement of civil society organizations and investigative journalists. It was important to continue to support and protect them and their work.
A number of new integrity initiatives were launched in the Integrity Cities. In Mykolaiv, focus was on integrity of reconstruction with the aim of developing best practices for other cities. Mayors and deputy mayors of Integrity Cities appreciated the recent study tour to Copenhagen and returned to Ukraine with new inspiration.
The next steps to strengthen the anti-corruption work should include legal initiatives to streamline investigation and adjudication of top corruption cases, in particular further strengthening the institutional and procedural autonomy of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office, the full implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Program, providing more capacity and staff to anti-corruption institutions and the High Anti-Corruption Court and to protect the mandates of the anti-corruption institutions, including NACP’s role as the national anti-corruption policy making authority. It underlined the need to launch the process of selecting a new head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention as soon as possible.
It recognized the importance of the private sector in the reconstruction process and the role of business integrity and compliance.
The meeting appreciated the work of the EUACI and looked forward to the launch of a new phase of the program currently under preparation.
The EUACI is funded by the EU and co-funded and implemented by Denmark.