EU calls on immediate work to renew anti-corruption infrastructure

The Ukrainian government must work immediately to
renew its anti-corruption infrastructure as a precondition for receiving loans
and maintaining a visa-free regime, according to a statement released on Nov. 3
by Peter Stano, the spokesman for the EU representative for foreign affairs and
security policy. The EU recognizes the difficult of the current situation and
appreciates the immediacy with which the president and cabinet want to resolve
it, he said. In particular, Ukraine needs to renew the legislation on
electronic declarations on assets and income and other authority of the
National Agency on Corruption Prevention, as well as stabilize the legal status
of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau by Dec. 16, the deadline determined by
the Constitutional Court.

The statement avoided addressing Zelensky’s proposal to
dismiss the Constitutional Court judges, instead calling on the president,
cabinet and parliament working to find an all-encompassing and stable decision.

The fight against corruption is among the key requirements
of the EU Association Agreement in signed June 2014, the visa-free regime that
was launched in June 2017, and the EU macrofinancial assistance program signed
in June 2020 and, Stano said.

The parliamentary anti-corruption committee endorsed
on Nov. 3 a bill submitted by speaker Dmytro Razumkov to renew the
e-declaration system in its original form. The bill adheres to the norms of
anti-corruption legislation and should be approved immediately, in its current
form, the committee said. Meanwhile, the same committee declined to review the
legislation submitted by President Zelensky, which calls for removing from
authority all judges of the Constitutional Court, among other measures.
Committee secretary Volodymyr Kabachenko of the Fatherland party recommended
approving Razumkov’s bill, while stating the president’s measure is
unconstitutional.

Gianni Buquicchio, the head of the European Commission
for Democracy Through Law (Venice Commission), offered to conduct a study of
the legal crisis – which emerged from the scandalous Oct. 27 ruling of the Constitutional Court –
during a Nov. 3 telephone call with President Zelensky. Such important
institutions as the High Anti-Corruption Court, the Deposit Guaranty Fund and
the farmland market should never be placed under risk, Buquicchio said, as
reported by the president’s office website. The common goal currently should be
renewing trust in Ukraine’s judicial system and the Constitutional Court, he
said. In his turn, Zelensky said he can’t allow a situation in which a body,
which is supposed to offer a judgement in conformity with the Constitution,
issues illegal rulings.

Zenon Zawada: The attempt to resolve the political and legal crisis caused by the
scandalous Oct. 27 ruling is on the path to an attempted resolution, with most
parties indicating they want to avoid Zelensky’s proposal of dismissing the
judges of the Constitutional Court. We expect parliament to approve gradually
the necessary legislation to meet EU requirements. However, it’s another issue
of whether the courts – particularly the Constitutional Court – will recognize
the validity of the legislation, which we believe will be challenged by the
same Kremlin-aligned cohort behind the Oct. 27 ruling. In this sense, the
proposed study by the Venice Commission would be very helpful.