US Senators Jeanne Shaheen from the Democratic Party and Lindsey Graham from the Republican Party have expressed concern that a recently adopted law, which makes Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies dependent on the decisions of the prosecutor general, undermines much of the country’s progress in fighting corruption.
Source: a joint statement by the senators, as reported by European Pravda
Details: In their statement, Shaheen and Graham noted that since the Revolution of Dignity [a series of protests in Ukraine in 2013-2014, sparked by the government’s decision to halt a European Union association agreement – ed.], Ukraine has made significant progress in combatting corruption.
Quote: “The Verkhovna Rada’s [Ukrainian parliament’s] recent passage of a law, signed by President Zelenskyy, we fear undermines much of that progress and goes against Ukraine’s tremendous fighting spirit as well as the expectations of Ukraine’s citizenry and the international community.”
Details: The senators stressed that one of the most common arguments in favour of ending support for Ukraine is the claim that the country is riddled with corruption.
“We acknowledge that Ukraine continues to make progress on this front and we urge the government to refrain from any actions that undermine that progress,” Shaheen and Graham stated.
They expressed their belief that it is in both Ukraine’s and the United States’ interest to meet public expectations and ensure reliable governance, which would form the basis for Ukraine’s economic prosperity and further US investment.
Background:
On 23 July, the European Commission expressed deep concern over the adoption of a law making the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) dependent on the decisions of the prosecutor general, and requested an explanation from Kyiv at the highest level.The European Parliament believes that Kyiv has jeopardised further EU aid and Ukraine’s accession prospects.On the evening of 23 July, Zelenskyy commented on the outrage from the public and international partners over the actions targeting anti-corruption agencies, promising to submit his own bill to guarantee their independence.
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