Ukraine's democratic resilience under fire: Anti-corruption law
Ukraine's national resilience isn't just about military defense; it's also about its capacity to preserve democratic integrity, even during times of crisis.
International relations expert Angela Grămadă told Moldova 1 that protests following the promulgation of a law limiting the independence of anti-corruption agencies are a sign of political maturity from a society that doesn't tolerate backsliding, not even during wartime. It's also a test of institutional capacity.
"In Ukraine, people are demanding clear transparency in defending public institutions responsible for anti-corruption measures. They're demanding that Ukraine doesn't slide into a form of governance similar to what Russia is fighting today. (...) Ukrainian civil society can remain active and find enough resources to continue protesting, to demand good laws for the country and good laws for the future from governmental authorities," states Angela Grămadă, who emphasized that authorities "did not account for the vehement reaction capacity of civil society," which has remained vigilant.
Regarding the two anti-corruption institutions, Angela Grămadă states that they "have undergone significant transformations," benefiting from the support and recommendations of international experts to maintain their independence from political influence. The new law, however, risks reversing these gains. "What has happened in the past few days demonstrates concerning trends among politicians in Kyiv," she pointed out.
Angela Grămadă highlights that Ukrainian authorities invoked national security arguments to justify the hasty adoption of the new law, but "these were insufficient." In her opinion, "an almost organized pretext was used to adopt a legislative framework that, in the long term, could affect not only the institutional framework for how Ukraine fights corruption, but also influence its relationship with the European Union."
The expert highlighted that in the midst of war, Ukraine has accelerated its European integration process, currently in the institutional screening phase. "We need to understand one very simple thing: the process of political development in Ukraine has never stopped, even though the country was under the extended military aggression of the Russian Federation (...) In the last three years, many laws in Ukraine have been voted on urgently. It was taken into account that martial law was introduced, and many of these laws aimed to provide the necessary resources and instruments for governmental authorities to cope with Russian aggression," Grămadă concluded.
It's worth noting that hundreds of people protested on Tuesday evening in several major Ukrainian cities after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a law that significantly reduces the independence of the country's main anti-corruption institutions: the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, as reported by Politico. These are the most extensive protests in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The law aims to amend Ukraine's Criminal Code regarding preliminary investigations while martial law is in effect. Last-minute amendments targeting corruption oversight institutions triggered nationwide reactions. Despite public outrage and calls to veto the bill, the act was signed. Subsequently, the European Commission expressed its "concern" regarding recent rule of law developments and the vote in the Ukrainian parliament.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
