On Friday 13 January, the spokesperson of the European External Action Service noted the opinion of the Venice Commission on the reform of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, in particular that the number of members of the Advisory Group of Experts (AGE) should be increased to seven, with the seventh member coming from the international donor quota.
“The European Commission expects Ukraine to align its legislation accordingly”, he said in a statement. “By introducing these changes, Ukraine would not only advance on its EU membership process, but it will foster the trust of Ukrainian citizens in the country’s judiciary”, he said.
On Wednesday 11 January, at an EPC virtual conference, Ukrainian Minister for Euro-Atlantic Integration Olga Stefanishyna criticised the EU’s request for international experts. “We are unhappy with the last minute pressure from the EU institutions to introduce an additional international expert to verify candidates, when there is already a significant international presence. In terms of attitude and treatment, we are not happy”, she stressed, adding that this sent a signal that Ukraine was not capable of making the selection for the constitutional court. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant and Léa Marchal)