On Monday, 11 March, Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, took part in a public discussion “Fighting Corruption in Ukraine: Progress towards EU Membership”.

Before the discussion, the Deputy Prime Minister addressed the guests and participants of the event with a welcoming speech.

“There are less than two weeks left before the EU Council considers the next steps for EU enlargement and assesses our progress in reforms in the rule of law and the fight against corruption. I believe that in this context, our country has solid, clear achievements. We have a fully functioning anti-corruption infrastructure, both for preventing and combating corruption. We have established a proper legislative framework to ensure that institutional and law enforcement functions are properly implemented. So now it is up to the anti-corruption agencies to demonstrate results and meet the highest standards,” said Olha Stefanishyna.

She expressed special gratitude to foreign partners, including experts, Ukrainian civil society, and all those working to implement the reforms needed on Ukraine’s path to the EU.

During the panel discussion, the speakers focused on countering disinformation and manipulative narratives about Ukraine in the context of the functioning of democratic institutions, corruption and the rule of law.

“Today we are talking about 10 years of transformation inspired by the Revolution of Dignity. During this difficult decade, we have built independent, capable anti-corruption institutions; at the same time, in some countries, the narratives about corruption in Ukraine have hardly changed. We understand that it is necessary not only to fight these narratives, but also to help our partners and friends not to fall for them. I would like to stress that Ukraine is not an isolated case. Corruption is everywhere. I think the key is to raise awareness among partners, but also to recognise our own achievements. We have come a long way. We can export our experience and knowledge to others,” said Olha Stefanishyna. “But we have always set high standards for ourselves, and now that the EU accession process begins and ends with the assessment of reforms of democratic institutions and the rule of law, it is not enough to create institutions and make them functional, we need to make them effective.”

Speaking about the expectations regarding the European Commission’s decision on the negotiation framework, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the key government authorities were working extremely hard to get a decision this week.

“We are systematically fulfilling all the commitments we have undertaken within the framework of the European Commission’s recommendations. In particular, this morning (11 March), the Parliament’s Committee on Law Enforcement approved the last expected legislative act establishing administrative liability for violations of lobbying legislation. We have done a lot of work in terms of rebuilding the entire narrative on the protection of national minority rights. And this, I believe, is a huge success story,” Olha Stefanishyna emphasised.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister, a very powerful network of support for Ukraine has been created in recent years. At the same time, Ukraine is facing a decade of development, transformation and constant evaluation by the EU. She noted that the European process was a process of growing up, and there were no easy solutions. According to her, finding a consensus between different positions is an integral part of European integration. In this context, Olha Stefanishyna noted the productivity of interaction between foreign partners, Ukrainian civil society, parliament, and government.

The panel discussion was attended by EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin and Head of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Anastasiia Radina.

The event was organised by the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration.