Brussels, 03/02/2016 (Agence Europe) - During the evening of Tuesday 2 February, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini hailed the agreement of the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) for a constitutional reform of the judiciary, which is, she says, “in line with European standards” and “a key condition for the success of ongoing political and economic reforms in Ukraine”.
The Ukrainian deputies approved this reform proposal, which is due to take the form of amendments to the constitution, at a vote on Tuesday. The country's constitutional court had given its approval the previous day. The deputies will have to meet again to approve the reform definitively by a two thirds majority.
According to Ukrainian news agency Interfax, the reform particularly targets judges, putting an end to their immunity against prosecution and allowing them to be discharged if they do not succeed in the re-certification process. The reform also proposes a recast of the selection system for judicial personnel, making the system more transparent and involving the Rada in the appointment of the chief prosecutor.
In this process of amending the constitution, which has been “inclusive” from the outset, Mogherini sees “an important step towards strengthening the judiciary, improving its efficiency, safeguarding its independence and impartiality, and combating corruption”. In a press release, she added that “the EU looks forward to the swift adoption of these amendments in final reading”.
The “blockage” of these reforms and the slow speed of implementing them, both of which have often been criticised in Europe, have just led the Ukrainian economy minister, Aïvaras Abromavicius, to resign. “Today I have decided to step down from office” due to a “sudden intensification of attempts to block important systemic reforms in our country”, he said at a press conference on Wednesday 3 February, as reported by French news agency AFP. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)