COPENHAGEN – EU enlargement chief, Marta Kos, said Ukraine has mostly fixed the damage done by its aborted anti-corruption reforms, but warned that Kyiv still has work to do.
Ukraine got into hot water with Brussels and other Western allies in July when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pushed through a measure that brought two anti-corruption bodies under tighter presidential control.
He later U-turned after coming under immense pressure from the EU, which Kyiv hopes to join.
“Regarding fighting corruption and what happened in July, most of it has been repaired, but there are still some steps which need to be done,” said Kos, at an informal meeting of European ministers on Tuesday.
“We are in contact with the government, and they promised they will really do this as they have promised.”
Taras Kachka, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European integration, said the focus should be on how Kyiv reacted to the pushback it received. He called the episode “a very good lesson learned” for both government and society.
The main political impediment to Ukraine’s EU membership is Hungary, which is blocking any further progress. Its Europe Minister János Boka said voters around the bloc do not want countries like Ukraine to join.
France’s Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad criticised Hungary for vetoing Ukraine. “What Hungary is doing on Ukraine is having an impact on other countries that are actually making good progress on reforming, like Moldova,” he said.
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