23.07.2025
Statement on the Elimination of the Independence of Anti-Corruption Institutions
Eleven years ago, the Revolution of Dignity put an end to the ambiguity and “multi-vector” approach of Ukrainian politics and solidified the European choice of the Ukrainian people. That same year, the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union was signed and ratified. In the years that followed, the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area and visa-free regime were launched, Ukraine’s course toward EU membership was enshrined in the Constitution, and the country submitted its application for EU membership, gained candidate status, and began accession negotiations. Today, the European Union and its member states remain Ukraine’s reliable partners in strengthening defense and supporting its state budget.
At every stage of this process, independent anti-corruption institutions have been and remain a cornerstone requirement for Ukraine’s European integration. Their existence was a direct obligation under the Association Agreement, a key condition for the visa-free regime, and one of the seven essential requirements for the launch of EU accession talks. Independent and effective anti-corruption bodies are not a technicality—they are a fundamental prerequisite for Ukraine’s path to the EU. They serve as a key benchmark for assessing Ukraine’s progress toward membership and a symbol of trust and value alignment with our European partners.
The draft law No. 12414, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, dismantles the independence of anti-corruption institutions by transforming them into subdivisions of the unreformed and politically dependent Prosecutor’s Office. It also significantly undermines their effectiveness by depriving them of the ability to conduct confidential investigations.
In essence, this amounts to the destruction of one of the most crucial pillars keeping the doors to the European Union open for Ukraine—undermining trust and support from European partners, which is essential in wartime, and extinguishing the Ukrainian dream of a better future that gives strength to both the frontline and the home front.
Furthermore, this creates grounds for rolling back Ukraine’s achievements in European integration and drastically increases financial risks for the country.
We, the representatives of Ukrainian civil society, were among those who fought for Ukraine’s European future during the Revolution of Dignity. Knowing the positions of our European partners, we consider the current developments to be a derailment of Ukraine’s European course—a course paid for not only by the lives of the Heavenly Hundred but also by the lives of thousands of heroes from the Anti-Terrorist Operation and, later, the Defense Forces of Ukraine in the full-scale war.
Together with the disrupted reboot of the Bureau of Economic Security and the High Qualification Commission of Judges, as well as the politically motivated selective prosecution of activists, military personnel, and journalists, these actions evoke a sense of returning to 2013—when Ukraine’s geopolitical and civilizational direction was still undecided.
But the current context is vastly different. Ukraine is now in its fourth year of full-scale war, requiring the utmost unity and concentration of effort from the state, society, and our European partners. Amid economic collapse, a catastrophic lack of financial resources, fragile external political support, and even more fragile internal cohesion, these developments pose an extreme threat to Ukrainian statehood.
We call on the President of Ukraine to take a statesmanlike stance: to weigh the risks and veto the adopted draft law, thereby affirming to Ukrainian society and European partners Ukraine’s unwavering commitment to its European choice.
P.S. This statement was drafted and signed by many before the law came into effect last night. Therefore, the demand now reads as follows:
We call on the President of Ukraine and the Verkhovna Rada to take a statesmanlike stance: to weigh the risks and take all necessary measures to repeal the law, thus reaffirming to Ukrainian society and European partners the fidelity to Ukraine’s European choice.
Join the statement: https://forms.gle/rTfPtAUfenzkyxdi8
Signatories:
Business Communities:
- CEO Club Ukraine
- Board Business Community
- NGO “Business Association ‘We Are Khersonians’”
- NGO “Association of Private Employers”
- Drupal Ukraine Community
- National Retail Association
- NGO “Bukovyna Entrepreneurs Club”
- NGO “Kyiv-Mohyla Business School Alumni Association”
- NGO “4BUSINESS Business Association”
- CBG Business Club
Civil Society Organizations:
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Civic Platform “Nova Kraina”
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Social Innovations Foundation “From the Country to Ukraine”
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Bilozerskyi Center for Regional Development
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Civic Organization BCD
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NGO “Social Capital”
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NGO “Ukrainian World”
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Boyko Ethnological Society
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NGO “STAN”
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NGO “Vchysia” (“Learn”)
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Ukrainian Legal Aid Foundation
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NGO “Horizon of Changes”
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NGO “Free Community Country”
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Center for Civil Liberties
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NGL.media
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NGO “Ukrainian Association of Students”
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Crisis Media Center “Siverskyi Donets”
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NGO “Vyshche”
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Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO)
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NGO “Chervonyi Guber”
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NGO “Agency for Urban Initiatives”
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NGO “Agency for Sustainable Development and Innovation”
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NGO “Rivne Center for Social Partnership” (Initiative “For Fair Tender”)
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Charitable Foundation “Library Country”
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NGO “Zero Waste Lutsk”
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International Institute of Integral Development
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NGO “Cultural Actors Coalition”
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NGO “Anti-Corruption Headquarters”
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NGO “Institutional Development Foundation”
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NGO “Ukrainian Pirate Community”
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NGO “Toloka Association”
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NGO “DobroChyn Center”
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NGO “Women’s Anti-Corruption Movement”
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NGO “Chernihiv Human Rights Center”
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NGO “Fishermen's Club of Ukraine”
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NGO “Center for Investigative Journalism ‘Power of Truth’”
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NGO “Ukrainians of the Future”
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NGO “Association of Legal Clinics of Ukraine”
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NGO “People’s Will”
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NGO “Public Space” (IAC)
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NGO “D.O.M.48.24”
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NGO “Democratic Initiatives Incubator”
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NGO “Zmistom”
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NGO “ZORAKS”
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NGO “Responsible Citizens Association”
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NGO “Public Monitoring of Ukraine”
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NGO “Publishers’ Forum”
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NGO “Ukrainian LGBT+ Military for Equal Rights”
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Automaidan (All-Ukrainian Union)
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NGO “Youth Democratic Association YODA”
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Poltava Branch of the Public Service of Ukraine
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NGO “Center for Public Investigations”
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NGO “Green Leaf”
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NGO “Detector Media”
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NGO “Access Point”
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NGO “Spilno Hub”
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Charitable Foundation “Red Poppy”
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NGO “City Advocacy”
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Women Veterans Movement
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Legal Development Network
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NGO “Zero Waste Lviv”
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NGO “Museum of Contemporary Art”
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NGO “People’s Defense”
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NGO “Irshava Rays”
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NGO “ID Ukraine”
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NGO “UFRA”
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NGO “Zaporizhzhia Investigative Center”
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Charitable Foundation “Let Your Heart Beat”
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NGO “Cherkasy Information Agency ‘18000’”
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Association “Energy Efficient Cities of Ukraine” (EECU)
Think Tanks:
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Centre for Economic Strategy
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Institute for Analytics and Advocacy
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Chief Economist Office of the Business Communities Coalition for Ukraine’s Modernization
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Advanter Group Analytical Center
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Institute for Economic Leadership
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NGO “Technology of Progress”
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ANTS – National Interests Advocacy Network
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Institute for Socio-Economic Transformation
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CASE Ukraine – Center for Social and Economic Research
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Future Development Agency
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Public Governance and Law Consulting and Analytical Center
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NGO “Center for Civic Expertise”
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NGO “Center for Reform and Local Development”
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Interdisciplinary Scientific and Educational Center for Anti-Corruption Research (ACREC)
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Nordic Ukraine Forum
Media and Initiatives:
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Platfor.ma
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Infohygiene Initiative “How Not to Become a Vegetable”
Ukrainian Citizens:
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Yurii Yurevych (military medic)
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Andrii Podanenko – CEO ITCare, CxO EnergyCitizen
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Nadiia Babarykina – Associate Professor, PhD in Political Science
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Yevhen Bystrytskyi – Philosopher
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