The statement of Aivaras Abromavicius, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, and the facts he disclosed about the pressure exerted on him by Ihor Kononenko, deputy head of the parliamentary faction “Petro Poroshenko Bloc” and the representatives of the President’s Administration, is another wake-up call for both the citizens of Ukraine and the international partners.

It is appropriate to recall that the ministers of infrastructure and agricultural policy, whose teams also attempted to implement reforms and achieved some results, have earlier, under certain circumstances, voiced their intention to leave the government or have already resigned for political reasons. A shameful practice when the issues are ‘settled’ by ‘grey cardinals’ pushes truly effective teams out of the government, which restores the political quota principle, when only political loyalty is taken into account.

The RPR civil platform calls on all the political players in Ukraine to ensure the inevitability of the reform process and its immunity from political games:

1)    We call on the MPs, the ministers, and the President to stop the shameful practice of high-level corruption, preservation and handover of corruption schemes, and acquiescence for the facts of reforms blocking and conflict of interest.

2)    Under the conditions of low trust in government, the parties must promptly change the composition of the government in line with the principles of professionalism, integrity, and technocracy (in the context of commitment to the cause, not political ambitions and ratings of electoral support). It is necessary to amend the laws on the Cabinet of Ministers and the central executive authorities.

3)    It is necessary to create conditions to support further work of those ministers-in-office who – together with their teams – have demonstrated significant results in reforming their industries and whose work has been appreciated by the experts in Ukraine and abroad.

4) The parliament should make a commitment to ensure constant support of legislative initiatives submitted by the ministers-reformists, provided they comply with the provisions of the coalition agreement and are supported by specialized experts.

5) The MPs and the representatives of political elites who were publicly accused of corruption and hindering the process of reforms should support the newly established anticorruption agencies (NABU, SAP) in launching investigation of these facts of corruption crimes.

In two years after the Revolution of Dignity, Ukraine has not reached a point of no return in any of the reforms and has not laid a stable foundation for the development of the country.

The next steps of all political players and agencies authorized to combat corruption, which will be taken in the coming days, will determine the fate of Ukraine – they will either reveal the capacity and the will of the authorities to transform, or will signify the rollback of the reforms and start of the next election campaign.

Organizations, NGOs, and citizens of Ukraine can accede to this statement by publishing it on their official pages or sharing it with the media in their own name.  

Yours Sincerely,
Civil platform “The Reanimation Package of Reforms”