EU Auditors issue report on anti-corruption aid to Ukraine

The EU Court of Auditors (ECA) issued a report on EU
measures to counter grand corruption in Ukraine on Sept. 24. In the report, the
ECA asserted that EU assistance and focus on the rule of law in Ukraine failed
to specify grand corruption in Ukraine, though it is precisely this form of
corruption that is holding the country back the most. The ECA defined grand
corruption as, “the abuse of high-level power that benefits the few, and causes
serious and widespread harm to individuals and society. Oligarchs and vested
interests are the root cause of this corruption. Grand corruption and state
capture hinder competition and growth, and harm the democratic process.” The
auditors focused on the period of 2016-2019.

The ECA pointed to successes in fighting corruption
overall in terms of fostering investigative journalism, among other things.
However, no EU-funded projects focused on grand corruption and state capture in
particular.

The report pointed out that EU efforts to help Ukraine
in matters such as aligning Ukrainian legislation with that of the EU did
succeed to a large extent. For example, the auditors point out that the Council
of Europe reported that it had achieved “90% of the legislative and
institutional objectives of the Justice Sector Reform Strategy and Action
Plan”. However, these results were undermined by watered down legislation and
bylaws and frequent amendments. Moreover, implementation was not an indicator
for success in these programs.

The EU, in a rebuttal, claimed that an examination of
corruption is generally not broken down into subcategories, and that, though
general, its projects did indeed place a focus on what it called “high-level”
corruption. There are improvements, and the number of indictments of high
officials has risen in the period under question. And the EU accepts the
auditors’ recommendations without accepting the idea of a linear breakdown of corruption
and easily digestible KPIs.

James Hydzik: The report
is more than just the EU quarrelling with itself. The audit points to the need
to address high-level/grand corruption in focused ways that emphasize
implementation. The Zelensky administration has done a good job in establishing
a technological solution to diminish petty corruption with its ‘government in
an app’. Unfortunately, high-level or grand corruption – and the auditors
should be recognized for parsing out state capture in particular – is the realm
of people accustomed to fighting to preserve their domains, unlike those who
lose out when their pathway to bribery is replaced with software.

While it might be unfair for the ECA to pinpoint something
that the EU was not focused on, the report might become an inflection point in
EU aid on judicial reform if the auditors’ recommendations are implemented.