Olha Stefanishyna. Photo: Getty Images

Kyiv believes that launching substantive negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU remains an achievable goal despite the recent legislative changes concerning the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the EU’s sharp reaction.

Source: former Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Olha Stefanishyna in a comment to European Pravda regarding its article on Ukraine’s EU path (English translation coming soon)

Details: Stefanishyna stressed that the opening of negotiations with Ukraine, which could have taken place at the Council of the EU meeting on 18 July, was disrupted for reasons unrelated to Ukraine.

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“The decision to open the first cluster, which had been prepared for 18 July at the level of European affairs ministers, required only political consolidation among EU member states and the European Commission,” she stated.

Stefanishyna pointed out that prior to this, Kyiv and European capitals had received formal confirmation that Ukraine had met the conditions to begin negotiations: “Everyone proceeded from the fact that the European Commission had confirmed that Ukraine had fulfilled the conditions for opening the first cluster”.

Despite recent developments – including large-scale searches of NABU detectives, investigative actions involving NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and the urgent adoption of a law which, according to journalists, undermines the independence of these anti-corruption bodies – Olha Stefanishyna remains optimistic that the EU will agree to start accession talks with Ukraine.

“The opening of the first negotiation cluster has become even more relevant in light of recent events, as it is a fundamental block that in any case entails the reform of law enforcement agencies,” she said. “This dialogue is overdue, and I am convinced that starting negotiations is realistic. The path to opening the cluster remains open,” Stefanishyna emphasised.

Background:

  • The European Commission is deeply concerned about the law restricting the independence of NABU and SAPO and is awaiting an explanation from Kyiv. 

  • European Pravda has also learned that the Commission officially informed the Ukrainian government of the consequences this law could have for Ukraine’s EU path.

  • Similar statements were made by several member states, including Germany and the Netherlands.

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