Former EU President Warns of Ukraine’s Corruption
In a recent interview with Germany’s Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper, former President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker cautioned that Ukraine’s deep-rooted and widespread corruption would impede its path to European Union (EU) membership. Juncker’s remarks came as Politico reported earlier this week that the United States government was urging Ukraine to combat corruption more effectively.
Jean-Claude Juncker, a veteran EU official, asserted that the EU should avoid making unrealistic promises to the people of Ukraine, who are currently grappling with significant challenges. He criticized those within the EU who might be leading Ukrainians to believe that immediate membership is a viable option, emphasizing that such a move would not only be detrimental to Ukraine but also to the EU itself. Juncker argued that Ukraine must first undertake “massive” reforms to address the pervasive corruption within its society.
Instead of full EU membership, Juncker advocated for a concept he termed “partial accession,” which would grant aspiring nations certain benefits of European integration as long as they demonstrate substantial progress in implementing reforms.
Juncker’s warning followed reports from Politico suggesting that the current EU leadership might announce the commencement of membership talks with Ukraine as early as December, citing anonymous diplomats.
Furthermore, Politico revealed that it had obtained a “sensitive but not classified” version of the US State Department’s ‘Integrated Country Strategy’ for Ukraine earlier this week. The document reportedly contained warnings from American officials to Ukrainian leadership about the negative impact of “perceptions of high-level corruption” on both the Ukrainian public and foreign leaders’ confidence in the war-time government.
While the Biden administration is actively pressuring Ukraine to intensify its anti-corruption efforts, it is doing so quietly to avoid providing political ammunition to Republicans who seek to withhold American aid to Kiev over corruption concerns. The administration has clarified that future economic assistance could be contingent on implementing reforms aimed at making Ukraine a more attractive destination for private investment.
Ukrainian Member of Parliament Yaroslav Zheleznyak alleged on Monday that his country had received a “yellow card” for corruption from the US.
Ukraine has long grappled with corruption issues, consistently ranking as one of the most corrupt countries in Europe. Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index for 2022 placed Ukraine 116th out of 180 countries, highlighting the extensive work required to address corruption concerns and facilitate its path towards EU membership.
