UWC welcomes EU’s Association Implementation Report on Ukraine

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) welcomes the European Union’s (EU) Association Implementation Report on Ukraine, issued on 7 November 2018 by the European Commission (EC) and the European External Action Service (EEAS), which highlights the recent reform successes of Ukraine under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement (Association Agreement), including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, and suggests areas for further improvement.

The report recognizes a positive trend in the adoption and implementation of far-reaching reforms in the political, economic, and social spheres in Ukraine. In particular, in 2018, Ukraine has enacted a number of important laws and regulations in the areas of decentralization, intellectual property rights, environment, company law, food safety and energy. The report also notes more progress in the implementation of Ukraine’s sectoral commitments under the Association Agreement, including sanitary and phytosanitary regulations, trade environment, public procurement, energy efficiency, financial services and banking, customs, accounting and auditing. Healthcare, pension, and education reforms are also being implemented at a steady pace.

The EC and EEAS acknowledge the adoption in June 2018 of legislation to set up a High AntiCorruption Court and stress the importance of a competitive and transparent selection of judges with the participation of international experts. Some progress has also been observed in the verification of e-declarations by the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption, which has launched new automated software that, if properly implemented, will conduct such verification more expeditiously. The report welcomed the introduction of Ukraine’s new Supreme Court in December 2017 following a recruitment process of “unprecedented transparency”. The EC and EEAS also welcomed the appointment of the President of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and the Court’s “strengthened independence from political interference”.

While recognizing the genuine progress of Ukraine’s reforms, the EC and EEAS call on Ukrainian authorities to maintain and reinforce the reform momentum in the run-up to the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in March and October 2019, including the fight against corruption.

“The Ukrainian World Congress welcomes the EU’s Association Implementation Report on Ukraine commending Ukraine’s ongoing reform progress, and calls on Ukrainian authorities to actively pursue such reforms and for the European Union to continue supporting Ukraine on its unequivocal path to European integration,” noted UWC President Eugene Czolij.

The official press release by the European Commission can be found HERE.