EU welcomes decision on new Energoatom supervisory board after Operation Midas case
The head of the EU Delegation to Kyiv, Katarína Mathernová, has welcomed the approval of four independent members of the new supervisory board of Energoatom, Ukraine's state-owned nuclear energy company, and said the EU expects the formation of the board to be completed in January.
On 31 December, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko said on social media that the appointments committee, made up of government representatives and independent observers, approved the independent members of Energoatom's new supervisory board.
"Very glad we have good new independent members in the supervisory board. Looking forward to the finalisation of the full Board in January," Katarína Mathernová wrote on Facebook in a comment to Yuliia Svyrydenko.
The independent members will be Rumina Velshi, an international expert in nuclear safety and regulatory oversight, Laura Garbenčiūtė-Bakienė, a specialist in finance, audit, and risk management in energy and infrastructure, Patrick Fragman, an engineer and international manager in the nuclear and energy sector, and Brice Bohuon, a lawyer specialising in energy regulation and corporate governance.
Svyrydenko added that the selection of the three state representatives for the supervisory board will be completed in the first half of January.
On 11 November, the Ukrainian government announced an early termination of the powers of Energoatom's supervisory board.
On 10 November, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) reported they had uncovered a corruption scheme at Energoatom amounting to about US$100 million as part of Operation Midas.
The ringleader is alleged to be Tymur Mindich, a businessman and co-owner of Kvartal 95, the TV production company that Volodymyr Zelenskyy founded before he became president.
The European Commission believes the exposure of the corruption scheme demonstrates the effectiveness of Ukraine's anti-corruption bodies.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos said that corruption is widespread across Europe and what matters is how countries respond. She expressed confidence in Ukraine's work to combat corruption with EU support.