On 19th of November, the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmygal and Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna hosted the annual Development Forum with the participation of Ukraine’s development partners.
The forum is a part of the preparations for the next year’s Ukraine Reform Conference to be held in Lugano, Switzerland, in July 2022.
The forum is a part of the preparations for the next year’s Ukraine Reform Conference to be held in Lugano, Switzerland, in July 2022.
The Danish Ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen spoke on the behalf of the development partners on the area of anti-corruption. These were the main messages. The Ambassador has also sent warm greetings to all of those who are at the frontline in the battle against corruption.
Recent progress and achievements:
• We acknowledge that despite challenging circumstances, the Government has made important progress, including in the consolidation of the anti-corruption infrastructure.
• The pushbacks we have seen particularly in the last year are a sign of the anti-corruption institutions starting to deliver tangible results.
• The management and staff of anti-corruption institutions, civil society and media continue to demonstrate courage and determination despite ongoing assaults and intimidation.
Ongoing challenges:
• Ukraine is now at a turning point in the fight against corruption. Anti-corruption-institutions have been established. We now we need to ensure that the institutions are effective, truly independent and professionally managed.
• Investigating corrupt officials and reducing the space for corruption is crucial for Ukraine’s democracy and development, as well as for the establishment of a healthy and transparent business environment that can attract both foreign and domestic investors.
Expected deliverables:
• Ongoing processes for selecting the Head of SAPO and of ARMA and the upcoming process of selecting a new Head of NABU must be transparent and merit-based.
• Adoption of the draft National Anti-Corruption Strategy by the Parliament as soon as possible.
• Implementation of the associated state program without delay and to allocation of the necessary resources to this end.
• Ensure that specialized anti-corruption institutions retain their exclusive competence to investigate high-level corruption cases and that other law enforcement and security agencies do not interfere in their work. There should be zero tolerance for procedural manipulations.