It has been over a year since Ukraine was granted candidate status for EU membership. And with it, several recommendations must be implemented to further progress towards membership. The New Europe Center, in partnership with several specialized think tanks and civil society organizations, has conducted the fifth independent monitoring of Ukraine’s implementation of the EU recommendations.

Read the full review here.

Over a year of implementation, Ukraine has demonstrated significant progress in implementing pro-European reforms, with an average expert score of 8.1 out of 10 points.

Reform No. 1. Reform of the Constitutional Court. The necessary legislation has been adopted. Experts of the Candidate Check coalition are monitoring its implementation. The next step is to implement new procedures for selecting CCU judges. The expert assessment has increased from 2 to 6 points.

Reform #2. Continuation of the judicial reform: HCJ and HQCJ. The High Council of Justice has resumed its work, and the members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges of Ukraine have been appointed. Experts note the technical implementation of the EU recommendation. The score is 9 points (up by one end).

Reform No. 3. Anti-corruption: SAPO and NABU. The NABU, SAPO, and HACC maintain a high activity level in grand corruption cases set earlier. After a flurry of criticism, the electronic declaration of civil servants was restored with an amendment on public access to declarations. Experts still have some reservations — score 8.5 (slight increase).

Reform No. 4. Combating money laundering. There are still reservations about the legislation on the status of PEPs. In the law enforcement sector, the President approved the Comprehensive Law Enforcement Reform Plan for 2023-2027, but its weakness is that it is deliberately designed for peacetime conditions. The Action Plan for the implementation of this document is awaiting approval. The expert assessment has stayed the same (6 points).

Reform #5. Anti-oligarchic reform. The Venice Commission provided its opinion only briefly, which made it impossible for Ukraine to implement the EU recommendation. Only in June 2023 did the Commission issue a statement far beyond the law under review. The Panel of Experts calls on the European Commission and EU Member States to refrain from considering the recommendation when assessing Ukraine’s progress.

Reform No. 6. Media legislation. The law on media was adopted last year. The law on advertising was amended in May. The recommendation has been implemented. The score is 10 out of 10.

Reform #7. Changes to legislation on national minorities. The law on national minorities (communities) was amended. Some of the comments of the Venice Commission have been taken into account. Implementation mechanisms for the law are needed. The approval of the State Target Programme “Unity in Diversity” is expected. Experts give the recommendation a high score of 9 out of 10.

The New Europe Center prepared this publication as part of its project implemented under the USAID/ENGAGE activity, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Pact and its partners and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.