EU leaders are due to decide at a summit starting on Thursday whether Ukraine will be granted official candidate status. The candidacy would increase the pressure from citizens to eradicate rampant corruption.
Vilma Romsi,
Jyrki Saarikoski
Ukraine’s EU dreams may soon be one step closer to realization. EU leaders are due to decide at Thursday’s summit whether to grant Ukraine official candidate status.
The European Commission recommends that you be nominated. In its report, Ukraine is praised for its demolition contract. A well-functioning corruption tribunal has also been set up, the Commission notes.
But the Commission’s review also includes a sin list. According to it, Ukraine needs to further intensify the fight against corruption.
The country is also required to enact an anti-oligarchic law. It would limit their influence on the economy, politics and public life.
Money is still flowing into the wrong pockets
Ukraine’s ranking in the annual corruption index of 180 countries is not flattering. It ranks 122nd, close to the Philippines and Mexico, for example. Russia, which has invaded Ukraine, is even worse off on a corruption scale.
Eradicating corruption is becoming a very difficult process, a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Institute Ryhor Nizhnikau notes in an interview.
According to Nizhnikau, the tradition of corruption passed from the Soviet Union to the state institutions of independent Ukraine, over which the oligarchs still have influence.
The dark side of the hero president
Member of the NCB Nils Torvalds considers that Zelensky should be able to limit his power:
– The longing for a strong leader is dangerous for the development of democracy, recalls Torvalds in a telephone interview.
– Therefore, Zelensky should be expected to have a wise policy, and to give up its own glory for the benefit of civil society.
The reforms have remained on paper
Nizhnikau says that Ukraine has already made a lot of significant reforms – on paper. For example, there are five different anti-corruption agencies in the country.
– Ukraine is taking a step forward by enacting good laws and establishing new anti-corruption institutions. Then taking a step back by eroding their application in practice, Nizhnikau criticizes.
Director of the Transparency International Ukraine Office for the Observation of Corruption Andrii Borovykin according to Ukraine is moving in the right direction, albeit slowly. Of the 180 countries listed by Transparency International, only 25 have made significant progress in anti-corruption work over the past decade. Ukraine is one of them.
– Ukraine is only ten points behind Bulgaria, the most corrupt country in the EU, Borovyk points out.
The defensive war united the Ukrainians
Defending against the Russian invasion has united the Ukrainians. In the midst of enormous difficulties, society in the country has proved its worth. Torvalds believes that with the war, Ukrainian civil society has strengthened.
– The war will strengthen the nation’s resilience, and may contribute to Ukraine’s development towards EU eligibility, Torvalds said.
According to him, the country’s path to membership in the Union can still take a dozen years.
The people want the west
According to Nizhnikau, it is not just a question of what Ukraine can do. The EU should also make it clear that Ukraine will indeed be welcomed once it has carried out the required reforms.
The people of Ukraine want to be part of the EU and the West, Nizhnikau says.
– So far, the country’s political and economic elite has argued very effectively that the reforms will not bring Ukraine closer to the EU.
Borovyk believes that the conditions for EU membership are the same for everyone – including a country at war. The most important thing for Ukrainians is to give the country a real chance to join the Union.
– If politicians do nothing for EU membership, they will be considered pro-Russia. And this Ukrainians do not accept, Borovyk says.
Reconstruction is a new keyword
According to Borovyk, post-war reconstruction will be the impetus for the reform of society as a whole.
MEP Torvalds also emphasizes the importance of reconstruction. He estimates that after the open war, Ukraine is facing a “frozen conflict”.
– Then the EU must be fully involved in supporting Ukraine, says Torvalds.
– With the success of reconstruction, we will see who inherits the land as a whole.