“We are ready to provide all kinds of assistance to Ukraine in its reconstruction work and on its way to the European Union, especially in the field of fighting corruption,” its head was quoted as saying in the STT report.
“Despite the challenges of the war, it is good that Ukrainian institutions continue their activities in the field of fighting corruption, and the sharing of good practices on how to fight corruption is especially relevant. Corruption is one of the threats to national security. It cannot be pushed aside when the existential foundations of the state are in danger,” he said.
This is what he said this week, together with the first deputy Jovit Raškevičius and the head of the Anti-corruption Education Department, Ben Aldakauskas, during his visit to Ukraine, where he participated in meetings with representatives of the country’s anti-corruption institutions, renewed cooperation agreements, and signed a new cooperation agreement.
During the visit, STT representatives met with the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU), the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO), the National Corruption Prevention Agency (NACP), and the specialized anti-corruption court of Ukraine and their teams.
According to STT, in 2016, a cooperation agreement was signed with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, and during this visit, a cooperation agreement was also signed with the National Corruption Prevention Agency, in which both institutions agreed to exchange information and best practices in the field of corruption prevention.
“We highly value Lithuania not only as a partner in the fight against the aggressor, but also in cooperation in revealing and investigating corruption, sharing information and best practices. The fight against corruption is one of the priority tasks on the way to the EU”, NABU head Semenas Kryvonos said at the meeting.
The STT delegation also met with the Lithuanian Ambassador to Ukraine Valdemar Sarapin, and discussed the possible further role of the STT and other Lithuanian institutions in increasing transparency in Ukraine.
After the meetings in Ukraine, the STT delegation met with the heads of the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) in Warsaw.
During the meeting, the importance of regional cooperation in creating a sustainable anti-corruption environment, the role of mutual cooperation in preventing corruption in Ukraine during war and peace was discussed.
Kyiv gained EU candidate status months after Russia’s invasion last year, but analysts have warned it faces a long and difficult road to membership.
Although the European Commission has officially given the green light to Ukraine’s membership talks, the European Union is calling on Kyiv to continue anti-corruption reforms necessary for the bloc’s accession process.
In November, the European Commission recommended that member states begin formal negotiations on Ukraine’s membership, but negotiations cannot begin until all 27 EU member states agree.
The expansion of the bloc will be included in the agenda of the next European Council meeting in Brussels on December 14-15.
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2024-08-03 00:33:25
