European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday reaffirmed the EU’s support for Ukraine’s accession bid, calling on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to ensure the independence of the country’s anti-corruption institutions.
In a post on social media platform X following a talk with Zelenskyy, von der Leyen said Ukraine had made significant progress toward EU membership but stressed the need to “preserve independent anti-corruption bodies, which are cornerstones of Ukraine’s rule of law.”“Ukraine has already achieved a lot on its European path. It must build on these solid foundations,” she said. “Ukraine can count on our support to deliver progress on its European path.”
In a separate post, Zelenskyy said the leaders discussed Ukraine’s EU integration, further sanctions on Russia, and reforms to the country’s anti-corruption infrastructure. He emphasized the urgency of passing a bill aimed at ensuring the independence and effectiveness of anti-corruption bodies, stating it should be adopted “without delay, as early as next week.”
The Ukrainian president also noted the signing of laws reforming the National Agency of Ukraine for Finding, Tracing and Management of Assets Derived from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) and legislation on factoring.
Zelenskyy thanked the European Commission for its technical support and welcomed the EU’s 18th sanctions package against Russia, particularly the lowered price cap on Russian oil. He confirmed Ukraine’s alignment with all 18 sanctions packages.
The two leaders also discussed the next steps needed to open the first negotiation cluster in Ukraine’s EU membership talks.
Ukraine was granted EU candidate status in 2022 and has since been working to meet the reform benchmarks required to begin formal accession negotiations.