Despite the change of political elites, the resistance to NABU is growing - Artem Sytnyk
The resistance to anti-corruption institutions in Ukraine is gaining momentum. This was emphasized by the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau Artem Sytnyk during the online discussion "Anti-Corruption and Judicial Reform: Progress Assessment and Current Challenges" that took place May 27, 2021.
"If we analyze the conditions in which the new anti-corruption institutions have to work, we must recognize that we are spending more and more efforts not to develop, but to protect them. And in this context, the National Bureau probably holds first place in terms of the increased attention to its activities on behalf of political elites and the number of attempts to weaken its institutional independence and functionality," the NABU Director said.
During the event, an assessment of the anti-corruption reform progress over the past two years, prepared by Transparency International Ukraine together with experts from the Reanimation Package of Reforms and the Anti-Corruption Action Center, was presented. The report also provides recommendations for priority actions in this area for 2021-2022. Among other things, it is about improving the procedure for selecting the Director of NABU.
Commenting on the draft law supported by MPs in the first reading, which is aimed at resolving legal issues that emerged after the Constitutional Court canceled certain provisions of the Law "On NABU" regarding the appointment of the NABU Director, Artem Sytnyk stressed the need to preserve the institutional independence of the National Bureau and the role of international experts.
"We hope that the new law will grant a decisive role in the election of the NABU Director to international experts, and the transfer of powers after the competition will take place in the most painless way for the anti-corruption infrastructure," Artem Sytnyk commented on possible legislative changes.
Representatives of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, the Anti-Corruption Action Center, the Center for Political and Legal Reforms, as well as the European Union Delegation to Ukraine and the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative in Ukraine (EUACI) also took part in the public discussion.
"NABU is playing an important role for the country's future, and independent international experts must continue working in Ukraine until a new director is elected," said Remy Duflo, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
The online discussion "Anti-Corruption and Judicial Reform: Progress Assessment and Current Challenges" was organized by the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition in partnership with Transparency International Ukraine and the Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania in Ukraine with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania in the lead-up to Ukraine Reform Conference 2021 planned for early July 2021 in Vilnius.