OECD Secretary General says Ukraine made significant progress in fighting corruption

Mathias Cormann, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), says that Ukraine has made significant progress in fighting corruption.

"We are impressed by how publicly and openly the government approaches these tasks, despite the aggressive war. You have made significant progress in the fight against corruption, and I can say that the integrity system is very important for the community to trust you, for business to trust you, and this will help to rebuild the country after the war," Cormann said at the presentation of the OECD's review of Ukraine on Tuesday in Kyiv, as quoted by Interfax-Ukraine.

He noted that the OECD hopes the fight against corruption will continue.

He also emphasised that all indicators of public integrity are submitted by the Ukrainian government, which confirms that Ukraine genuinely wants to build institutions that demonstrate the commitment of not only the leadership, but also the entire nation to combat corruption.

"In certain key areas, you have almost reached the OECD average," said Cormann.

Meanwhile, he said that the system of state audit and corruption risk management should be strengthened.

The OECD Secretary-General also stressed that the lobbying register should be launched as soon as possible and must be accessible to all.

"Overall, Ukraine has reduced its corruption risks. It is conducting further training and retraining of its specialists... This also applies to the private sector, but it should also apply to small and medium-sized businesses, so that they also play their role in the fight against corruption. So, we will continue to build with you a strong foundation for our further work in the fight against corruption in order to ensure the successful implementation of all the measures we are talking about," said Cormann

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, believes that Ukraine will be able to open at least one negotiating cluster before the end of Poland’s presidency of the EU Council.

Ukraine and the EU Commission initially had ambitious plans for the pace of accession talks in 2025, but the process has been hindered by Hungary’s veto. Recently, there have been indications that Moldova and Ukraine could be separated on their path to EU membership.