On Tuesday, the EU’s enlargement commissioner expressed her dismay at a vote by Ukrainian parliamentarians in the Verkhovna Rada to remove the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
“Seriously concerned over today’s vote in the Rada, Marat Kos wrote on social media. “The dismantling of key safeguards protecting NABU’s independence is a serious step back.”
She said the independence of the agency, and of an anti-graft prosecutor’s office which was also put under parliament’s purview, were “essential” for Ukraine’s EU path to membership.
Thousands of protesters gathered in Kyiv on Tuesday to protest the measure.
At the same time, however, European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier said that the 27-member bloc is not going to raise the issue of suspending financial assistance to Ukraine over those actions.
In a response to a question by European Pravda on Tuesday, Mercier said, “It’s not a discussion at this stage.”
“I mean, there are safeguards that we have,” he explained. “Once we get there, I mean. We’ll see if we ever get there.
On Monday, G-7 ambassadors all expressed concern over the investigative actions of the Security Service of Ukraine against the NABU.
President Volodymyr Zelensky signed the highly controversial bill into law on Tuesday, effectively gutting the country’s top anti-corruption organizations of their power to investigate independently.
On Tuesday night, Kyiv Post reporters on the ground observed around 2,000 to 3,000 people – mostly young – rallying near the Ivan Franko Theater in central Kyiv, close to the presidential complex.
The protest took place despite martial law, in effect since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, which officially bans public demonstrations.