Ukraine: a step back in the fight against corruption?
Protests have broken out in Ukraine against a new law that slashes the independence of the country's top anti-corruption bodies, the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, and puts them under the control of the Prosecutor General's Office. Observers criticise President Zelensky and see Ukraine on a dangerous path towards authoritarianism.
Betraying Euromaidan
Ukrainska Pravda's editor-in-chief Sevgil Musayeva sees a clear shift towards authoritarianism:
“This is the dismantling of the anti-corruption infrastructure created after the Revolution of Dignity [Euromaidan] - established by civil society, under pressure from international partners and at the request of Ukrainians who wanted an honest, transparent state. And who gave their lives for this demand. Today, this choice has been betrayed. This decision means a loss of direction, a mockery of memory - and the beginning of a decline into authoritarianism, where power is concentrated in one person's hands, where there is no balance, no accountability, and no fear of being exposed.”
Ukraine becoming more Russian
The reform makes Ukraine a little more like its hostile neighbour, complains The Spectator:
“The battle for Ukraine's future is being fought not only on the battlefield, but also within its democratic institutions. One of these battles was lost on Tuesday. ... The law brings Ukrainians closer to the country they desperately want to leave. If it is not rejected, President Zelensky risks driving the people back to Independence Square for another Maidan uprising. This moment could be closer than he thinks.”
A risky move for Zelensky
With this move President Zelensky is alienating not only the Ukrainians but also his Western partners, writes Rzeczpospolita:
“It's difficult to predict the consequences that the Ukrainian leadership will face as a result of the latest decisions. Volodymyr Zelensky will soon have to deal with the reactions of Ukrainian society, his political opponents and the democratic world that supports Ukraine. Especially as Kyiv still has a long way to go in the fight against corruption. In last year's Transparency International ranking, Ukraine was basically on a par with Algeria.”
Kyiv distancing itself from the EU
La Repubblica concurs that the country is jeopardising its effort to move closer to the EU:
“The fight against the endemic corruption that has kept Ukraine in a stranglehold for decades has led to improvements in recent years. It is one of the key conditions for Kyiv's accession to the European Union. So it's no coincidence that EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos yesterday expressed her concern about this counter-reform, which expands the president's powers and represents a 'serious step back' from the progress Kyiv has made in the past years.”
The fight goes on
In a commentary for the Unian website, political expert Vitaly Kulyk sheds no tears for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau:
“Its results: not a single case of high-level corruption that would have led to a conviction. Overall, the existing anti-corruption architecture has proven to be ineffective. This is why I am not joining in the general lamentation over draft law No. 12414 and am not 'burying' either the fight against corruption or EU integration. Because the US and the EU will continue to demand transparency and more efficiency in the use of aid funding. This government will therefore still be forced to create mechanisms and an appropriate model for the anti-corruption infrastructure.”