The EU expreses concern over threat to Ukraine’s anti-corruption reforms and closely following developments around NABU and SAPO.
The independence of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions is a core condition for continued political and financial support. Any rollback of reforms threatens Ukraine’s European integration path.
The European Union has expressed concern over Ukraine’s recent actions regarding NABU and SAPO, and reminded that EU financial support is conditional on progress in democratic governance.
This was stated by European Commission spokesperson Guillaume Mercier, whose comment was obtained by European Pravda.
Mercier noted that the European Union is “concerned about Ukraine’s recent actions toward its anti-corruption institutions – NABU and SAPO.”
“These institutions are crucial to Ukraine’s reform agenda and must operate independently in order to fight corruption and maintain public trust,” the spokesperson emphasized.
He stressed that the EU provides significant financial assistance to Ukraine “on the condition of progress in transparency, judicial reform, and democratic governance.”
“A strong capacity to fight corruption and ensure institutional resilience is essential for Ukraine’s accession to the EU. The EU will continue to monitor the situation and support Ukraine in upholding the rule of law,” the European Commission spokesperson said.
As a reminder, on July 21, officers from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Office of the Prosecutor General conducted approximately 80 searches targeting 19 employees of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) across various regions of Ukraine. The law enforcement officers did not have court warrants for the searches.
NABU detectives are being accused of state treason, illegal trade with Russia, and corruption in the interests of oligarchs. At the same time, the State Bureau of Investigation has stepped up its activities with materials related to a years-old traffic accident involving NABU employees.
Representatives of the SBU and the Prosecutor General’s Office are also checking the state of protection of classified information at the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
Meanwhile, the Verkhovna Rada is set to consider draft law No. 12414, which, according to NABU and SAPO, would effectively dismantle the independence of these anti-corruption institutions.
On July 21, the ambassadors of the G7 countries expressed concern over the investigative actions carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) against the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
Tags: anti-corruption reforms nabu
