Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, said on Monday 25 February that the perception of corruption in her country was distorted.
“I believe that this perception is not necessarily based on objective facts”, she told the European Economic and Social Committee at UkraineLab 2019. “There has been a lot of misinformation and distortion (on the subject) in recent years”, she said. In her view, the fact that Ukraine is “according to Russia, a failed, corrupt and fascist state, is being blown out of proportion by the European, global and Ukrainian media”.
Ms Klympush-Tsintsadze recalled the ongoing regulatory efforts in the country, announcing in particular that the High Anti-Corruption Court, requested for months by the EU, would be “fully operational by June 2019” (see EUROPE 12077).
For his part, Christian Danielsson, Director General of DG NEAR at the European Commission, said that Ukraine needed to do more in terms of reforms, putting corruption at the top of the list, “because it has an effect on society, but also on the economy”. “Perception is important [...] the prosecution [of those responsible] is an important element, there is also the issue of privatisation”, he explained.
According to Transparency International, in 2018, Ukraine ranked 120th out of 180 countries on corruption. Although the situation continues to improve year on year, the country remains below the world average (32/100 compared to an average of 43/100, 0/100 being an extremely corrupt country and 100/100 a very 'clean' country) (see EUROPE 12182). In its investigation, Transparency International considers that the implementation of the anti-corruption reforms launched in 2014 remains incomplete, progress is too slow and anti-corruption institutions have not yet succeeded in challenging senior officials.
More generally, Ms Klympush-Tsintsadze reviewed the challenges her country will face in 2019. The first is to pursue the reform agenda and to ensure that reforms are irreversible.
Supported by M. Danielsson and Kami Witmer of the US mission, Klympush-Tsintsadze also stressed the need to ensure that presidential and legislative elections are “fair and equitable” and that the process is transparent. “We have no illusions about the fact that external forces will try to influence the elections”, the Commission representative acknowledged. Believing that the EU has finally recognised the challenge posed by Russia and decided to take joint action to combat misinformation and cyber attacks, Ms Klympush-Tsintsadze announced that these were areas in which Ukraine wishes to cooperate with the EU.
The Ukrainian official recalled the geopolitical situation of her country. “It is an uncomfortable truth that there is a war in Europe”, she said, regretting that some European politicians do not want to face facts.
Given the major challenges facing Ukraine, Ms Klympush-Tsintsadze said she was sure Ukraine could count on the support of the EU and the United States, but that any ambiguity regarding its future in Europe undermined reform efforts and should be taken into account. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)