Brussels to peruse Ukraine's new law on anti-corruption institutions

BRUSSELS. July 31 (Interfax) - Anti-corruption institutions are the cornerstone of the rule of law, the European Commission (EC) said after Ukraine's parliament voted for a law to restore independence of the national anti-corruption agencies.

"When it comes to today's vote in the Rada, it has restored key safeguards ensuring the independence of anti-corruption bodies. The new law addresses the key challenges of NABU [National Anti-Corruption Bureau] and SAP [Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office] independence. We will however need to check the final text as it has just been adopted," EC spokesperson Guillaume Mercier told a briefing in Brussels on Thursday.

"Let me however underline that this is not the end of the process. Ukraine's accession will require continuous efforts to guarantee a strong capacity to combat corruption and to respect the rule of law. We expect Ukraine to deliver on those commitments swiftly and take decisive steps on the rule of law. We continue to follow closely and we remain available to support Ukraine in this process," he said.

Asked whether the European Union would suspend the promised payments of its funds to Ukraine as punishment for such a deviation from EU standards, Mercier said, "There are no such plans as freezing the EU funds."

He stressed the importance of further reforms to ensure long-term compliance with the requirements for a rule of law.

In particular, Ukraine should quickly appoint the head of its Bureau of Economic Security, reinstate international experts in the High Qualification Commission of Judges and take measures regarding problematic Criminal Code amendments, he said.

Ukraine's parliament has restored independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office.

The decision was adopted by the parliament on Thursday, the Ukrainian media said.