A new bill was passed by the Ukrainian parliament and signed into law by President Zelesnkyy on Tuesday, 22 July, which, if enacted, would bring the formerly independent anti-corruption agencies National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) under the purview of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.
The chief prosecutor in the country is appointed by President Zelenskyy, so critics of the bill have raised their concerns over potential conflicts of interest.
The backlash against the efforts to curb independent anti-corruption measures in Ukraine has been so severe that thousands took to the streets of Kyiv in protest, the first such show of popular discontent with the Zelesnkyy administration since the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine war. Smaller crowds gathered to demonstrate in cities of Lviv and Dnipro as well.
Figures from both Ukrainian and international politics have spoken up against the developments. NABU Director Semen Kryvonos has stated ‘Anti-corruption infrastructure was just destroyed by our own lawmakers. In fact, this is not only a conflict of interest but also a threat to Ukraine’s EU integration,’ as quoted in a piece by POLITICO. MEP for the German Green party Daniel Freund, otherwise a vocal supporter of President Zelenskyy and Ukraine, has also criticized the new bill on the online version of the Stuttgarter Zeitung.
MEP Freund has recently visited Ukraine and has come home with a negative outlook on the broader issue of the war-torn Eastern European country’s EU accession as well. ‘Now for the first time they have missed milestones, so certain payments were not made as scheduled. The mood was gloomy…They [Ukrainian officials they met] had the impression the government was really not implementing the reforms,’ he stated, again according to POLITICO.
This is just one voice in the growing concerns that the new corruption law is jeopardizing Ukraine’s chances of joining the EU.
EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos warned Ukrainian officials in an interview with TVP World that weakening anti-corruption agencies could derail the accession process.
The controversial bill was proposed by President Zelenskyy’s Servant of the People party. It was originally about changing Ukraine’s criminal code regarding pre-trial investigations, while martial law was in effect, the amendments about control over the NABU and SAP anti-corruption agencies were tacked on in the last minute before the vote.
As the backlash, domestic and international alike, mounts, President Zelenskyy has initially justified the move as an effort to ‘get rid of Russian influence’ in the two agencies. However, he soon changed his tone, and on Wednesday, stated his party will be introducing a new bill that would maintain the independence of the anti-corruption bodies in the Ukrainian government.
President Zelenskyy has already faced serious criticism, typically coming from the American right, for postponing the presidential election, citing special wartime powers, which was originally set to take place in 2024, at the end of his five-year term in office.
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