How Kyiv is delaying main EU reforms and what consequences this could have
In December 2025, the Ukrainian government made written commitments to the EU regarding urgent key reforms in the areas of the rule of law and anti-corruption. The plan was signed on Ukraine’s behalf by Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration, and became unofficially known as the "10 Kachka-Kos points".
Yet six months have gone by, and progress on implementing the plan is well below expectations. Expert monitoring of Ukraine’s progress gives it a score of 15 out of 100 – and most of that reflects preparatory work rather than reforms that have actually started.
Unless the situation changes immediately, Ukraine will create serious obstacles on its own path towards EU membership.
Read more in the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor: Halfway to the deadline, Ukraine scores 15% on the EU’s priority reforms plan.
At present, none of the ten commitments has produced satisfactory results.
Ukraine has implemented only one minor element of one of the points. It has also completely failed to address the main elements related to judicial reform. Within the coalition there were even discussions about whether a negative score should be given, since this is essentially a rollback in one of the reform areas.
Yet the coalition’s sources in the government remain optimistic.
Point 1: closing corruption loopholes in the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC)
This is the most important point of the entire plan and the largest in scope.
In particular, Ukraine has committed to closing loopholes that currently allow some top-level corruption offenders to avoid responsibility – for example, by dragging out investigations and then closing cases due to statutes of limitation.
All attempts by parliament to fix these and similar provisions have failed, so the European Union has identified remedying these problems as one of the accession criteria.
However, Ukraine’s current score is only 2.5 out of 20. Ukraine is still only preparing to work on this reform.
Point 2: independent forensic examinations for NABU
The second commitment, establishing independent forensic expertise for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, is also at an early stage.
The Ministry of Justice has started to draft a bill, but NABU is unhappy with the proposals and critical of the government’s concept of how the institution responsible for conducting forensic examinations would operate.
Expert score: 2 out of 10 points.
Point 3: changing the rules for the dismissal of the Prosecutor General and selection of candidates for the position
Even here, however, the government has done nothing so far. Moreover, there have not even been any political statements indicating an intention to carry out a meaningful reform.
Experts awarded only 0.5 points out of 10, solely because parliament has registered draft law No. 15343 introducing a competitive selection process for the position of Prosecutor General.
The experts have awarded half a point only because of a parliamentary initiative: draft law No. 15343 on competitive selection for the position of Prosecutor General has been registered in the Verkhovna Rada.
Expert score: 0.5 out of 10.
Point 4: reinstating the competitive selection process for the appointment and transfer of prosecutors
There have been political statements about the intention to implement this point, but no actual action. Expert score: 0.5 out of 10.
Point 5: reform of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)
The reform of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) received 1 out of 10 points.
Current government statements suggest an intention to submit a draft law "by the end of the year", which is quite late for such a complex reform.
However, the main problem is not missing the deadline, but the possible deliberate entrenchment of politically dependent leadership within the SBI.
Point 6: appointment of judges to the Constitutional Court and members of the High Council of Justice
Overall, there are no critical problems here, although the pace of implementation could be faster.
Expert score: 1 out of 5, with hopes that the assessment may improve shortly.
Point 7: involving international experts in the selection commission of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ)
The government claims it has prepared an alternative legislative initiative, which is currently at the stage of coordination with the European Commission. Expert score: 1.5 out of 10.
Point 8: judges’ declarations of integrity and digitalisation of enforcement proceedings
This complex reform area has achieved the highest score so far: 3.5 out of 10 points.
Point 9: the Anti-Corruption Strategy and Anti-Corruption Programme
Expert score: 1.5 out of 10.
Point 10: internal control systems against corruption
Expert score: 1 out of 10.
Overall assessment
Six months after adopting the Kachka-Kos Plan, implementation remains largely at the preparatory stage. While some technical work has begun, progress on the most politically sensitive reforms – judicial reform, prosecutorial reform, anti-corruption enforcement and the reform of law-enforcement institutions – has been minimal.
The central warning of the report is that the greatest threat to Ukraine’s EU accession process may not come from external resistance within the European Union, but from delays in carrying out reforms that Kyiv itself has formally pledged to implement.