The best way to support Ukrainian reforms is to open negotiation clusters: Taras Kachka at the Ukraine: Integrity and Integration Forum

On October 20, 2025, in Brussels, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Taras Kachka took part online in the high-level event titled Ukraine: Integrity and Integration in the panel “Partnership for Integrity: The EU's Role in Supporting Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Drive.” The discussion focused on the Ukraine-EU partnership in ensuring the rule of law and fighting corruption as key components of Ukraine's accession to the European Union.

During his speech, Taras Kachka emphasized that despite the challenges of war, Ukraine continues to systematically pursue reforms in the areas of justice and anti-corruption policy, which is not only a requirement of the Copenhagen criteria, but also a demand of Ukrainian society for justice and sustainable democratic transformation.

Taras Kachka noted that even before the official opening of Cluster 1 negotiations, Ukraine had begun implementing roadmaps for transformation in the areas of the rule of law, public administration reform, and the functioning of democratic institutions.

Among the key steps presented by Taras Kachka were:

• adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of a Law on the establishment of specialized administrative courts;
• selection of judges with the participation of international experts;
• preparation of a draft law on the verification of judges' integrity declarations in close cooperation with the European Commission;
• appointment of a new Director of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine based on an open competition;
• positive results of Ukraine's assessment under the OECD Istanbul Action Plan, in which the country scored over 90 out of 100 points in three areas: anti-corruption policy, whistleblower protection, and specialized anti-corruption bodies.

Speaking about the rule of law and anti-corruption reforms, he also noted that in six years of operation, the High Anti-Corruption Court had passed 318 verdicts (in 2025, 64 convictions were handed down against 96 individuals). Since the beginning of the year, NABU has initiated 560 criminal proceedings; 149 individuals have been notified of suspicion; 97 indictments against 212 individuals have been sent to court.

In conclusion, the Deputy Prime Minister stressed that the opening of negotiation clusters with the EU would create the best conditions for the structured continuation of reforms: “We are ready for further technical preparation so that member states can agree on the EU's position and open negotiation clusters as soon as it becomes politically possible,” Taras Kachka said.

He also called for continued systematic technical assistance for judicial and anti-corruption reforms, as well as ensuring the sustainability of exchange and training programs for judges, prosecutors, and analysts. A separate aspect is support for inter-institutional dialogue “state bodies, civil society, and business.”

The event, organized under the Danish Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2025 in cooperation with the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI), brought together Ukrainian and European leaders to discuss Ukraine's anti-corruption achievements, EU support and further steps towards European integration of our country. The discussion involved Anastasia Radina, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy; Vira Mykhailenko, Chair of the High Anti-Corruption Court; Wolfgang Nozar, Head of the Rule of Law, Anti-Fraud and Financial Management Unit, DG NEAR (European Commission).