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Ukrainians can stay without traveling without a visa (photo: facebook.com/DPSUkraine)
The European Union spoke directly about the possible suspension of the visa-free regime for Ukrainians. The problem was caused by the problems of the anti-corruption authorities. Read more in the RBK-Ukraine material.
Of course, due to quarantine restrictions, Ukrainians are still unable to travel freely to the European Union, as before. But the coronavirus pandemic will end sooner or later and, of course, I don’t want to miss out on the very opportunity to travel to the EU safely. After all, visa-free travel has become one of the most tangible bonuses of European integration for millions of Ukrainian citizens in recent years.
Important competition
The exacerbation of relations between Kiev and Brussels was caused by the situation around the anti-corruption bodies of Ukraine, towards whose establishment the European Union has made many efforts. The first sign was the decision of the Constitutional Court, which at the end of August declared the appointment of Artem Sytnik as director of the National Anti-Corruption Office (NABU) unconstitutional in 2015.
As a result, Sytnik, who has the support of Western partners, remains de facto in office. But now a loophole has emerged around NABU, and the EU calls on Ukrainian MPs to fill it as soon as possible.
But many more problems may arise for Ukraine due to the selection of a new head of the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP). In August, the former head of SAP, Nazar Kholodnitsky, wrote a resignation letter; his replacement must be selected by a competition committee of 11 people.
The Council of Prosecutors filled its quota of four members of the commission in June. The EU and the US have no complaints about the chosen candidates.
The remaining seven members of the commission would be elected by the Verkhovna Rada, and this was done only on the third attempt, on September 17. On the other hand, the “Servant of the People” only gave 172 votes to the proposed candidates, the rest added the groups OPSZ, “Dovira” and “Por Maybutn”, as well as non-fractional deputies.
Since the beginning of September, Western partners and creditors of Ukraine have on several occasions publicly expressed their concerns about the selection process of the tender committee. However, the diplomatically accurate statements contained a message completely understandable to the Ukrainian authorities.
Thus, the ambassadors of the G7 countries stressed that the selection of the head of the SAP must be carried out on “transparent and politically neutral principles.” The EU ambassador to Ukraine, Matti Maasikas, linked the visa-free regime and the EU’s macro-financial assistance to the work of anti-corruption bodies. And after the vote in the Rada, the European Union and the United States directly linked increased support for Ukraine with the transparency of the work of the competition committee.
But above all the noise in the Ukrainian media was caused by the statement of the German MEP, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Viola von Cramon.
“The Ukrainian government is hastily pressuring candidates who lack experience and awareness to select the head of the SAP. This will not work. The Ukrainian government threatens the visa-free regime with the EU and the subsequent tranche of aid worth 1,500 million euros, “von Cramon wrote. on his Twitter on September 17.
The MEP even got into an absent dispute with the head of the SN faction, David Arakhamia. “I will only answer letters (on the situation with SAP and visa-free travel, – ed.). There is no letter from anyone. Neither the deputy, nor the parliament, “said Arahamia, who urged” to pay attention not to the rumors, but to the documents. “
“This is exactly what I said yesterday, Mr Arahamia. Listen to this message from the European Union (on the situation around SAP, – ed..) because the consequences for your country will not be good, “replied von Cramon.
In recent days, the Ukrainian authorities have persistently assured society that there is no threat to visa-free travel. “Ukraine has not received from the representatives of the European Union at the official level information on the revision of the visa exemption policy towards Ukraine. Certain statements that may sound are statements of political figures,” said the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. , Emine Dzhaparova.
In turn, the Office of the President previously issued another reassuring statement and called on everyone to “refrain from excessive emotions” and not to politicize the selection process of the head of the SAP. Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself hinted at who might be behind the speculation about a possible suspension of visa-free travel.
“I know who is spreading this information (on the possible loss of visa-free, – ed.), I know this political party, whose leader is a man who still considers himself the monarch of Ukraine, the master of Ukraine, “Zelensky said.
Penultimate warning
The creation of anti-corruption structures, mainly NABU and SAP, was one of the main structural reforms, thanks to which the EU granted Ukraine visa-free travel. Therefore, Brussels’ attention to its activities and its independence is quite understandable.
During Petro Poroshenko’s time, attacks were periodically carried out on anti-corruption infrastructure, which also invariably provoked a strong reaction from Europeans. To the point that on the sidelines there was talk of the loss of visa-free travel.
As a result, power was withdrawn each time. The interest in the SAP itself is understandable too – your boss occupies one of the key positions in the entire anti-corruption vertical, and can actually block any criminal proceedings.
Shortly before granting Ukraine a visa-free regime in 2017, the European Union clarified the procedure for its suspension. So, in addition to the obvious conditions, such as an increase in the number of illegal immigrants from a country “without visa”, in the case of Ukraine, the reason for the loss of this status may be the violation by Kiev of the criteria for which it was granted. In short, a rollback in EU-sensitive reforms.
At the same time, the European Union has prescribed clear procedures. During the first seven years after obtaining a visa-free visa, that is, until 2024, compliance with these criteria will be monitored annually by the European Commission. In case of violations, Brussels can suspend visa-free travel for 9 months for certain categories of citizens. And if the violations are not corrected, then for another 18 months, but for all Ukrainians.
“Pay no attention to the complexity of the visa-free suspension process. If the EU decides that it needs to move in this direction, then this move will be fast enough. In any case, it will be a political decision. And if it is adopted, it will be implemented quickly. in practice. However, I hope it doesn’t come to this, “former Foreign Minister Pavel Klimkin, who was directly involved in granting visa-free travel several years ago, told RBC-Ukraine.
As Klimkin explained to the publication, Europe is confident that anti-corruption infrastructure is the key to any reform and progress in Ukraine as a whole. In addition, there is a security problem: the West believes that if corruption in Ukraine “bypasses” anti-corruption bodies, Russia can take advantage of this. At the moment, Klimkin does not see a threat to visa-free travel, but called the latest statements from European officials “the penultimate warning for Ukraine.”
The representatives of the mono-majority in the Rada also do not yet see substantive reasons for concern. As the head of the international affairs committee told RBC-Ukraine, Oleksandr Merezhko, people’s deputy of Servant of the People, should expect an official and clear legal position on this issue from the European Union.
“If, for example, one of the EU representatives is not satisfied with Ukraine’s actions, it would be correct to provide a clear official legal position, referring to the rules of law that Ukraine allegedly violated. There are only incomprehensible innuendoes and statements from that Ukraine allegedly violates and that some conditions, but this is not enough, “Merezhko said.
The main complaint against the candidates chosen by the Verkhovna Rada for the SAP competition commission is that they do not have “significant experience in the field of fighting and fighting corruption” prescribed in the legislation. But Merezhko doesn’t think this could somehow trigger the process of suspending visa-free travel, and the very rule on “experience” that he sees as very vague.
“This is a question of national legislation, the sovereignty of Ukraine and the sovereignty of its parliament. If this condition were in the legal acts of the EU, then I would understand this argument,” he said.
The deputy director of the anti-corruption policy committee, Galina Yanchenko, in a conversation with RBC-Ukraine, recalled that Ukraine’s western partners also had questions with the former head of SAP Nazar Kholodnitsky during his tenure. Therefore, according to her, the change in the leadership of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office is in the mutual interest of Ukraine and the European Union.
“Now we are talking about members of the selection committee, but this is not the key point of the general algorithm. What you have to pay attention to is the selection procedure itself and the candidates that will be presented and arrive at the interview. It is important that many people entered the contest so that there was no “choice without choice” situation, Yanchenko said.
Therefore, to all appearances, the Ukrainian authorities have not yet done anything truly irreversible. The further development of the events will depend on the seriousness with which you assess the danger and the possible electoral effect of the loss of visa-free travel. And will they overcome the desire to strengthen control over the anti-corruption vertical?
