Brussels – The merging of political and economic interests in Ukraine is a matter for serious concern for the Council of Europe Group of States against Corruption (GRECO), President of GRECO Marin Mrcela has said.
“It is clear, however, that issues such as the heavy influence of business interests on politics and shadow financing need to be addressed, for the sake of the democratic process. As the pre-electoral delegation of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe put it recently, the ‘oligarchisation’ of Ukraine’s politics, the merging of political and economic interests, is a matter for serious concern,” he said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
At the same time, he refrained from making specific comments about Ukrainian parties’ and election candidates’ dependence on powerful businesses or shadow financing at the current parliamentary elections, although in 2011 GRECO said they depended on these factors.
“I hope you will understand that I wish to refrain from commenting on the ongoing election campaign. A proper assessment of the situation can only be made after the elections,” he said.
While commenting on the fact that the main problem on this parliamentary election is bribery of voters, Mrcela said: “I think it should be clear that any forms of corrupt behavior are unacceptable and need to be addressed. Of course we will also keep an eye on issues such as vote-buying, but it is not strictly speaking in the focus of our current evaluations.”
