Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Jan Tombinski has called on the Ukrainian parliament and local authorities to take steps to implement the anti-corruption measures as part of the visa liberalization action plan, as well as to adopt the remaining bills of this package.
“I very much encourage efforts of the Verkhovna Rada and local authorities to address the anti-corruption benchmarks in the Action Plan on Visa Liberalization and fully implement European Commission’s recommendations from the last Progress Report. In this regard, particular attention is rightly being devoted to asset recovery and confiscation matters. Asset recovery is a key component of the fight against corruption and other financial and economic crimes and organized crime,” Tombinski said in a comment on the asset recovery and confiscation legislative package.
The diplomat stressed: “Ukraine has committed to establish a national Asset Recovery Office, as well as a management function of seized and confiscated assets and to build effective inter-agency coordination in order to establish an asset recovery record. There is no time to waste in order to achieve this and I invite the Verkhovna Rada to consider relevant pending legislation. The latest amendments discussed in the Parliament appear to raise a number of concerns as to the compliance with desired EU standards.”
Tombinski said that the new asset recovery and confiscation legislative framework as proposed by the government of Ukraine (package of bills Nos. 2540a, 2541a, 3040) can be considered as a constructive regulatory framework that provides full compliance and implementation of relevant European standards. “The legislative package as proposed by the government follows the guidance of many principles established in the relevant EU laws,” the ambassador said.
However, far more intrusive mechanisms exist elsewhere in Europe, providing for potentially more effective tools.
“The proposal of the Ukrainian government tried to respond in a short term to the most urgent needs and the state of affairs of national justice and law enforcement institutions. In this respect, proposed policy initiatives should strike a delicate balance between the need to deal with proceeds of crime on the one hand, and guarantee a fair trial and stability of property relationships on the other,” the ambassador said.
