EC urges Ukraine to ensure that legislation on Constitution Court, de-oligarchization, money laundering, national minorities meets recommendations

MOSCOW. Feb 2 (Interfax) - The European Commission (EC) calls on Ukraine to take all measures required to ensure that the legislation on the Constitutional Court, de-oligarchization, money laundering and national minorities meets international recommendations, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi said.

Varhelyi was quoted by Ukrainian media as saying at a joint meeting of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission on Thursday in Kiev that the EC was amazed at the pace at which Ukraine was moving to enforce the seven EU recommendations in such challenging circumstances. At the same time, he noted that the speed should not be at the expense of quality.

He said that the EC welcomed the progress in the fight against corruption and in judicial reform, as well as in combating money laundering.

The commissioner said that Ukraine needed to bring the necessary reforms in line with the recommendations.

He noted that the EC was aware of some recommendations from the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission regarding the percentage of Constitutional Court judges and de-oligarchization. Therefore, he asked Ukraine to address such issues as the composition of the panel of experts for the appointment of Constitutional Court judges as soon as possible so that it meets the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Varhelyi drew attention to the law on de-oligarchization in terms of competitiveness and transparency in the media space.

He also said that the new legislation on money laundering should fully comply with European standards.

Varhelyi also said that he hoped that a new director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau would be appointed shortly.

The European Commission also calls on Ukraine to adopt all necessary legislation on national minorities in accordance with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Varhelyi said that Ukraine would be involved in the reporting process from 2023, just like other countries with the candidate status.