Achievements of anti-corruption reform under threat of destruction, — Artem Sytnyk
The system of anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine has proven its effectiveness. The Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Artem Sytnyk at the “Dialogues about Reforms” forum stated this on November 19, 2020. The NABU Director spoke about the negative impact of the decisions of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine on the activities of the Bureau and the risks that a decision of the CCU regarding the High Anti-Corruption Court may have.
“The current situation requires a political solution in the shortest possible time. The key achievements of the anti-corruption reform are actually being destroyed. Termination of the Anti-Corruption Court, which is proving to be effective, is the biggest risk. If this happens, it will be difficult to correct the consequences of this blow in the medium term,” Artem Sytnyk said.
According to Oleksandr Novikov, the Head of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine, full-fledged and effective work to prevent corruption is still impossible: “A significant part of the NACP's functions are on pause. We hope that in the near future, the Parliament will resume responsibility for submitting false data to declarations as well as for administrative corruption offenses. We expect the Parliament will return the NACP's function to consider requests, and will approve an anti-corruption strategy."
Commenting on the decision of the Constitutional Court, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, the Member of the Parliament, emphasized the importance of renewing responsibility for submitting false data to declarations and stopping the blocking of anti-corruption actions using the judiciary. “If this is not done till the end of the year, we will receive serious consequences: indulgence for undeclared income and serious complications of communication with European partners,” the Yaroslav Yurchyshyn said.
The Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark to Ukraine Ole Egberg Mikkelsen urged the authorities to prevent the weakening of anti-corruption institutions: “The infrastructure for combating corruption in Ukraine is now under pressure. It is necessary to restore the Register of declarations and powers of the NACP as soon as possible, ensure the legal status of NABU by December 16, 2020, choose the SAPO Head in a transparent way, protect the functioning of the HACC, and ensure the independence of these structures and non-interference in their work.”
The online forum “Dialogues About Reforms: on the Road to Vilnius” to be held 17-27 November 2020. The forum is organized within preparation for the Ukraine Reform Conference, which is a key annual international event dedicated to the expert discussion of reforms progress in Ukraine. In 2021, the URC will take place in Vilnius, Republic of Lithuania.
Photos by the RPR Coalition
