EU, Ukraine officials dissatisfied with visa-free regime process

The EU Representative in Ukraine said on its Facebook page on Nov. 10 that it’s concerned about the process of establishing the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office haven’t been taken into account, without offering specifics. “The EU delegation continues to stress the need for a truly independent and professional selection of anti-corruption prosecutor’s office that has the trust of civic organizations and society,” the statement said. Two days earlier, EU Anti-Fraud Office Director-General Giovanni Kessler declined an appointment by parliament to the commission to establish the specialized office, instead insisting that he be the prosecutor general’s appointment.

The Ukrainian parliament’s amendments to the EU visa-free regime legislation worsened their quality after they were drafted by the Cabinet of Ministers, Deputy Prosecutor General Vitaliy Kasko said in a Nov. 11 television interview. The amendments restricted the ability of a court to enable the arrest of property in pre-trial investigations, he said. “Now confiscating the property of a suspect is impossible if the prosecutor’s office didn’t prove the illegal nature of this property,” he said. Meanwhile, the amendments to the National Agency to Administer Confiscated Property merely create a large warehouse, which will make the agency a financial burden on the government instead of a source of revenue, he said.

Zenon Zawada: Parliament is scheduled to review more visa-free bills today, with assurances by the president of their approval. The EU will review the parliament’s amendments to the Cabinet’s drafts and it’s quite possible that its officials will decide to reject them, which would merely be the latest embarrassment for this government. This is a legitimate possibility, considering that Kasko’s opinion is widely respected among the Western leadership.

Meanwhile, the president and prosecutor general continue to resist EU recommendations to drop its four prosecutors as appointments to the commission to establish the specialized prosecutor. Given the political importance of achieving the visa-free regime, we expect them to surrender the EU’s demands eventually. The president’s compromise proposal of replacing two prosecutors might not satisfy the EU, at this point.