Ukraine risks losing Western support due to the destruction of NABU and SAPO
фотоколаж: ЦПК
A new bill to limit the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP) may negatively affect Ukraine’s EU membership negotiations and further Western support.
This was stated on the air of “Pryamoy” by Oleg Shamshur, a diplomat, former ambassador to the USA and France.
“This is complete absurdity, some kind of abracadabra. If we are supposedly moving towards EU membership, how can we adopt such laws? The epic with the BEB is not over yet, it is just beginning. Those who do this should understand how this can end from the perspective of Ukraine’s membership negotiations. If they don’t understand this, then I don’t know. The question is what level of leadership, what level of understanding of the tasks is. No matter how you say it, it looks very bad,” Shamshur noted.
According to him, since all power is completely concentrated in the hands of Bankova, it is unlikely that anything can be changed within the country, so there is hope only for Western allies.
“Considering that all elements of power and management are under the control of Bankova, including the parliament, I honestly do not see any opportunities to do anything internally. That is, again, the hope that our partners will have a strong say. And when it becomes clear that the prospect of visa-free travel and progress in negotiations is becoming more than uncertain and may close, maybe it will be a kind of shock therapy for those who make such decisions. We understand that this appeared in parliament not just like that, but at the suggestion of Bankova,” the diplomat explains and emphasizes that in Ukraine “democracy is under threat.”
On the eve of the G7 ambassadors reacted to the SBU’s investigative actions against NABU. They stated that they have serious concerns and intend to discuss these events with the government leadership. The diplomats also emphasized that they support transparency, independent institutions and good governance, and also value partnerships with Ukraine to jointly fight corruption.
“In addition, the European Union is concerned by Ukraine’s recent actions regarding its anti-corruption institutions – NABU and SAPO. These institutions are key to reform in Ukraine and must act independently to effectively fight corruption and maintain public trust,” said European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier.
As a reminder, on July 22, the Verkhovna Rada voted for a bill that significantly limits the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP), effectively subordinating their activities to the Prosecutor General. Subsequently, the heads of these institutions appealed to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy not to sign the bill , which, in their opinion, destroys the independence of these bodies.
Instead, Transparency International Ukraine stated that pressure on the anti-corruption bodies of Ukraine and attempts by the authorities to interfere in their work are unacceptable . They emphasize that on July 21, the SBU, the Prosecutor General’s Office, and the State Bureau of Investigation conducted mass searches of NABU detectives and an inspection of the SAPO without court decisions. According to the organization, the main goal of such actions is an attempt to influence the activities of NABU and SAPO.
Meanwhile, mass protests have taken place in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Odessa, Lutsk, and Ivano-Frankivsk against draft law No. 12414, which activists say threatens the independence of the anti-corruption institutions NABU and SAPO. Protesters are demanding that the president immediately veto the document, which could significantly change the balance of Ukraine’s anti-corruption system.
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