On its path toward EU membership, Ukraine faces a unique and unprecedented challenge: reforming its judicial and anti-corruption systems — while fighting a full-scale war.

These areas form the core of the first negotiation cluster, “Fundamentals,” which both opens and closes the accession talks. Therefore, fulfilling commitments in the fields of justice and anti-corruption is not merely a formality — it is a test of Ukraine’s capacity for European integration.

These challenges became the focus of a discussion organized by the Ukrainian Center for European Policy. The event was attended by Olha Lymar, Executive Director of the Reanimation Package of Reforms Coalition, and Yurii Mykytiuk, Head of Regional Programs at the Coalition.

During the event, the UCEP team presented draft research papers addressing key problems in the justice and anti-corruption sectors and proposed solutions — in particular through the clear fulfillment of interim benchmark indicators within the negotiation process.

A specific feature of these indicators is that they are formulated rather broadly. The European Commission leaves room for political assessment of progress; however, such general wording makes it difficult for a candidate country to evaluate its own advancement.

That is why the Center’s experts proposed specifying the tasks and developing clear, measurable indicators in the fields of justice and anti-corruption. Such an approach would allow Ukraine not only to report to its partners but also to objectively assess its own progress.

We thank the UCEP team for the invitation and continue our joint work on the first negotiation cluster!