Ukrainian Parliament passes key laws for EU accession
The Verkhovna Rada adopts important laws on NABU and NACP (Photo: facebook.com/lunchenkovaleriy)
The Verkhovna Rada has supported in general, two important bills necessary for Ukraine's accession to the European Union - to increase the staff of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and to lift restrictions on the powers of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP), according to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak.
According to the MP, 332 people's deputies voted in favor of increasing the NABU staff.
According to the draft law, the maximum number of staff of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine will be increased from 700 to 1000 people.
The draft law provides for a phased competition to fill additional vacant positions: in 2024 - for 100 positions, in 2025 - for 100 positions, and in 2026 - for another 100 positions.
The abolition of restrictions on the NACP's powers was supported by 308 MPs.
The draft law allows the NACP to check property acquired before public service.
It should be noted that the European Commission, in its report on the assessment of Ukraine's European integration efforts, drew attention to the need to abolish restrictions on the NACP's powers. This means continuing the verification of assets that have already passed the verification process.
Adoption of European integration bills
On November 14, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the draft laws that are a prerequisite for the start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the European Union. These are the following:
- on increasing the number of NABU employees;
- to exclude certain provisions from the law on corruption prevention that reduce the effectiveness of the asset declaration mechanism.
On November 21, the Verkhovna Rada adopted these draft laws in the first reading.
On November 8, the European Commission recommended that the EU Council start accession negotiations with Ukraine. According to EC President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukraine has already implemented 90% of the reforms expected by the EU. However, Kyiv should continue to implement reforms.
