22/07/2025 (Agence Europe) – On Tuesday 22 July, European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier announced that the EU was “concerned about the recent measures taken by Ukraine regarding its anti-corruption institutions, namely the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Prosecutors’ Office”. At the same time, the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) voted to end the independence of these two bodies. “These institutions are essential to Ukraine’s reform programme and must function independently in order to fight corruption and preserve public confidence”, warned Mr Mercier, pointing out that the EU was providing substantial financial aid to Kyiv, subject to progress in the areas of transparency, judicial reform and democratic governance. (CG)