“With the upcoming recovery efforts and with the EU-integration path, the fight against corruption is more important now than ever - for the Ukrainian people and for Ukraine’s international friends” the Head of the EU Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI) Allan Pagh Kristensen said during the conference on 5 April 2023. He underlined that the EU and other international partners will keep a very close eyes as to the implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Programme.
The conference ‘Road to a Future without Corruption: Step-by-Step Guide’ was dedicated to a presentation of the State Anti-Corruption Program for 2023–2025. It was held in Kyiv and co-hosted by the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) and the EUACI.
“The State Anti-Corruption Program is a unified systemic document that answers the question of how to make the state function effectively. Implementation of the Program will help eliminate the causes of corruption, not just fight its consequences. In addition, sustainable democratic institutions as envisaged by the Program are a prerequisite for defeating an external enemy”, the NACP Head Oleksandr Novikov said.
High-level government representatives, members of parliament, heads of anti-corruption institutions, diplomats, NGOs, and international organizations joined the discussion of the Program’s implementation.
Welcoming the participants, the Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas mentioned that even during wartime Ukraine continues progressing with its anti-corruption reforms and the adoption of the State Program and the Anti-Corruption Strategy last year are another clear proof that also at the strategic policy level Ukraine is delivering and advancing.
The Head of the Verkhovna Rada, the Deputy Head of the Verkhovna Rada, the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Deputy Head of the President’s Office and the President of the High Anti-Corruption Court also addressed the conference with welcome remarks and they all underlined the importance of the State Anti-Corruption Program.
The conference included 3 discussion panels dedicated to the areas of the State Program. The participants talked about anti-corruption policy in the priority areas of defense, infrastructure restoration, digitalization, land management, and education together with Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development, Roksolana Pidlasa, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee, Mykola Solskyy, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, Oksen Lisovyy, Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine and Serhiy Derkach, Deputy Minister for Restoration.
The MP Anastasiya Radina, the Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Semen Kryvonos, the Deputy Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office , Andriy Synyuk, Judge of the High Anti-Corruption Court Markiyan Halabala and the Deputy Head of the EUACI Iryna Shyba focused on the further development of the anti-corruption institutions. In the final panel the priority steps for the implementation of the Program were discussed.
“The EUACI will support the implementation of the State Anti-Corruption Programme by providing monitoring and coordination tools, expertise and corruption risk assessments. For example, in the field of education together with NACP, the EUACI will develop an anti-corruption curriculum to be integrated in the educational system”, Allan Pagh Kristensen concluded.
Watch the full video of the conference (English)