At the end of the fourth EU-Ukraine Association Council on Friday 8 December, which was attended by Ukraine's Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini said she had taken note of the Ukrainian authorities' resolve to fight against corruption.
Mogherini first hailed the reforms that have been implemented by the Ukrainian authorities as part of the implementation of the association agreement that entered into force on 1 September (see EUROPE 11853). These reforms are in the areas of retirement, health care and energy, and will enable Ukraine "to exploit the full potential of economic development and improve the living conditions of its citizens", Mogherini stated. Groysman meanwhile underlined the Ukrainian authorities' resolve on this and said that alongside the measures already implemented, 2018 would be a "year of economic growth".
Hailing the progress made on the fight against corruption, Mogherini nevertheless said that the political conditions for putting an end to this had still not been met. This is despite "the new bodies to fight corruption", particularly through the likely establishment of a jurisdiction specialised in this. Groysman said he hoped the jurisdiction could start work next year. On the judicial section, the Association Council welcomed the establishment of a new Ukrainian supreme court, which is due to start work in mid-December.
The two parties also spoke about the political situation in eastern Ukraine, with Mogherini underlining the EU's support to protect "the integrity of territorial sovereignty" in the country. Mogherini and Groysman hailed the signature of an agreement on the EU's support for the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which was signed the same day. Under this agreement, the EU will provide €50 million to strengthen local governance, economic recovery, security and social cohesion in zones controlled by Kiev in these two regions. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)