The Cabinet of Ministers has delayed the approval of the State Anticorruption Policy (SAP), which should have taken place by Jan. 10, as part of the Anticorruption Strategy 2025.
Adopting the Strategy was one of the informal conditions for granting Ukraine European Union (EU) membership candidacy. The government has decided to consider and approve the SAP by Jan. 23.
The National Agency for Prevention of Corruption (NAPC) told Kyiv Post:
“The government committee on national security and defense considered the draft SAP on Jan. 9. The committee invited representatives of all bodies of authority engaged in and responsible for the development and future implementation of the SAP. Fourteen of them presented their remarks to the draft and requested additional adjustment procedures. After the draft SAP is finalized, it will be considered and approved by the committee by Jan. 23 and submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for endorsement.”
The NAPC added that additional adjustment procedures are underway with the ministries of justice, finance, economy, internal affairs, strategic industries, agrarian policy, social policy and culture and information policy, the Business Ombudsman’s Office, the National Bank, the Antimonopoly Committee, the Council of Judges, and the School of Judges.
Andriy Vyshnevsky, deputy head of the NAPC, added that resistance is the strongest in issues concerning reduction of oligarchic influence and settlement of the conflicts of interest involving judges and members of the High Council of Justice and the High Judge Qualification Commission.
“It should be noted that due to the very nature of the SAP, it will hardly be possible to bridge all differences with the bodies that are its potential executives. At the same time, the unbridgeable differences with this anticorruption agency indicate that the proposed anticorruption measures are relevant. These painful surgical measures are resisted in the spheres that are or may be the worst infected by corruption,” said Vyshnevsky.
On Jan. 6, the Public Council at the NAPC approached the Cabinet of Ministers with a demand to approve the SAP as soon as possible, arguing that the document is of the highest quality and that its implementation would:
- Significantly improve the general system of prevention of and counteraction to corruption, including by raising the efficiency of the NAPC, the National Anticorruption Bureau, the Specialized Anticorruption Prosecutor’s Office, the High Anticorruption Court, and the Agency for Asset Search and Management;
- Minimize corruption practices in several dozen important public sectors such as: activity of political parties, justice, prosecution, police, government regulation of economy, customs, taxation, state-run economic sector, construction, land relations, infrastructure, defense, education, science, social protection etc.; and
- Ensure Ukraine’s compliance with key standards and criteria and thus provide for Ukraine’s accession to the EU, NATO and the OECD.
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