The Council of Europe's Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) has called on Ukraine to increase its efforts to combat bribery and create greater transparency of political funding, according to GRECO's third report on Ukraine, which was obtained by Interfax-Ukraine in Brussels on Wednesday.
In particular, GRECO warned that determined action in the area of political financing "was clearly required in order to foster citizens’ trust in Ukraine’s democratic system, its politicians and political parties."
"Parties and election candidates could become dependent on powerful business or shadow financing, as they rely entirely on private funding," reads the statement.
At the same time, the group welcomed measures taken in 2011 to bring the national legal framework in line with Council of Europe standards.
"But more needed to be done to complete them and make them clearer," GRECO said.
The provisions on public sector bribery needed expanding to cover non-material gain, private sector bribery and trading in influence. These were not fully addressed, and improvements were needed on sanctions.
"GRECO welcomed the ongoing electoral reforms and new legislation on general party financing planned for mid 2013, but stressed the need for swift action to create coherence and achieve Council of Europe standards, especially in the area of party funding and election campaign funding. The group called for proactive supervision and a wider range of sanctions, which must be applied," reads the statement.
