Ukraine to certify e-asset declaration after second EU complaint

The EU Delegation to Ukraine issued its second statement on Aug. 17 criticizing the Ukrainian government for failing to certify the electronic asset declaration system that was launched on Aug. 15. “Claims that technical deficiencies are behind the failed issuance of a timely certificate are in contrast to public statements by the United Nations Development Program and other reliable experts, which clearly underline that the system is fully in line with international standards and can be used to collect and publish declarations in an entirely legal way already at this stage,” said the statement, which was issued in conjunction with the embassies of EU member-states in Kyiv. Without the certification, the system “makes little sense and might actually be counterproductive,” the statement said.

Hours after the statement, a meeting was organized by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko at which it was determined that the e-asset declaration system would be certified by August 31. Recall, a state agency announced on Aug. 12 that it could not certify the declaration system because of technical errors. That meant that its posted information about the assets and income of state officials could not be used to prosecute them in the event that it was false or lacking altogether.

Zenon Zawada: Yesterday we mentioned that elections were the main way to accelerate reforms in Ukraine, but as we see, the other way is pressure from Western governments. We saw this pressure help remove the allegedly corrupt Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. However, his successor, Yuriy Lutsenko, has yet to prove that he’s much of an improvement.

As is the case with the e-asset declaration system. While it might be certified by September, it’s unlikely that the information will be used to prosecute powerful people. There’s also the risk that the revealed data will be used for politically motivated prosecutions. There’s only so much the West can do for reforms without the will of Ukraine’s leadership.

This episode serves as the latest example that Ukraine will not progress towards rule of law without constant oversight and prodding from the EU (or a new generation of politicians). Moreover, it confirms that Ukrainian President Poroshenko has no internal stimuli for reforms and instead is inclined to maintain the corrupt status quo.