The European Commission expressed concern Monday over Ukraine’s recent actions regarding the independence of its anti-corruption bodies, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).
“This issue is not being discussed at the moment,” European Commission spokesman Guillaume Mercier said when asked about potential consequences. He added that financial assistance to Ukraine from the European Union involves multiple levels of decision-making and control mechanisms that can be triggered if necessary.
“So, preventive mechanisms exist. But we will see if we ever get to that,” Mercier said.
His remarks come after the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, on July 22 approved draft law No. 12414, which has drawn criticism from Transparency International and other watchdogs for allegedly undermining the independence of NABU and SAPO.
According to the text of the bill, obtained exclusively by Radio NV, the legislation introduces new amendments to the Ukrainian Criminal Code that opponents say would significantly limit the autonomy of the two institutions. The amendments were proposed by lawmaker Maksym Buzhansky of the ruling Servant of the People party.
Transparency International Ukraine warned that the draft law could dismantle essential safeguards ensuring the independence of NABU and SAPO.
Under the proposed changes, the Prosecutor General would gain broad new powers, including:
-
The authority to take over cases from NABU and reassign them to other investigative bodies;
-
De facto leadership of SAPO, with the ability to delegate SAPO prosecutors’ responsibilities to others;
-
The ability to issue binding written instructions to NABU detectives;
-
Power to unilaterally close investigations into top officials.
The draft law would also significantly curtail SAPO’s procedural independence. Key changes include:
-
SAPO prosecutors would lose the right to determine NABU’s jurisdiction in exceptional circumstances;
-
The SAPO head would no longer be able to resolve jurisdictional disputes in NABU cases;
-
The SAPO head would be stripped of the authority to modify appeal or cassation complaints filed by SAPO prosecutors.
Critics argue that these provisions represent a “serious violation” of Article 116 of the Verkhovna Rada’s Rules of Procedure, drastically altering the scope of the original bill.