PACE rapporteurs: 'Extensive corruption' is Ukraine's main problem
The winter session of the European Council’s Parliament Assembly (PACE) opened in Strasbourg on Monday, 23 January, where participants will discuss the report entitled, "The Functioning of Democratic Institutions in Ukraine." The report and relevant resolution will be presented by the representatives of the PACE Monitoring Committee on Ukraine: a Spanish Deputy from the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), Jordi Xuclà, and the head of the European People’s Party in PACE, Axel Fischer.
The rapporteurs note that since the last resolution adopted in April 2014, after the illegal annexation of the Crimea by Russia, "events in Ukraine have developed under the influence of Russian military aggression in the eastern part of the country and attempts in the framework of the Minsk Agreements to solve this conflict peacefully." Despite this, "the reform process in Ukraine, in accordance with people’s demands made during the protests on Maidan, is being implemented," the authors note.
As was noted in the report, one of the main problems for Ukraine remains "extensive corruption.” "The prolonged absence of progress "in the fight against corruption, namely, trials and prison sentences for those guilty of corruption" can potentially reduce the effect of ambitious reforms and eventually undermine public confidence in the political and legal system in general," the document reads.
"The Assembly is concerned about the slow pace of the fight against corruption with limited results," as stated in the project resolution. Its authors also observed the close relationship between the political and economic interests of the representatives of authorities in Ukraine and the negative impact on public opinion, which, in turn, can prevent the fight against corruption. The establishment of a special corruption court is a decisive step in the fight against corruption, the document stresses.
Debates and voting by the PACE deputies on the project resolution "Functioning of Democratic Institutions in Ukraine" are planned for 25 January.