Poroshenko sure of timely anti-corruption court approval to get IMF tranche

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he’s
“absolutely sure” that parliament will approve the second reading of legislation
establishing an independent anti-corruption court in the first half of the
year, possibly even this month. “And then we’ll gain the next (IMF loan)
tranche,” he said in an interview with Germany’s Focus magazine published on
May 4. Recall, parliament approved on March 1 legislation
to create the High Anti-Corruption Court in the first reading, which was widely
criticized afterwards for failing to meet the standards of the Venice
Commission of the Council of Europe.

Zenon Zawada: Parliament
has eight plenary sessions scheduled for this month, starting with May 15. So
everything is in place for Poroshenko to fulfill his promise of leading
parliament to approve the second draft of the independent anti-corruption
court. We expect the legislation will just barely meet Western standards, and
the biggest trouble could come from certain clauses failing to meet them
altogether (in order for the president to retain influence and control over the
court). We believe the potential remains for the IMF to withhold the next loan
tranche if Ukraine’s lawmakers try to bend the rules too far. But our base-case
scenario is Ukraine meeting IMF expectations and securing the next loan tranche
in the first half this year, in line with Poroshenko’s assurances.