Brussels Forum: Experts and officials call to maintain reform momentum on Ukraine’s path to the EU

On October 15, a forum titled “Sustaining Ukraine’s Accession Momentum: Implementing Reforms, Opening Clusters, and the EU’s Readiness” took place in Brussels. Representatives of the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Ukrainian government and parliament, as well as civil society organisations, discussed preparations for the next stage of the negotiation process between Ukraine and the European Union.

The discussion focused on the progress of reforms in Ukraine, the technical and political preconditions for opening negotiation clusters, and the EU’s readiness for further enlargement.

Participants agreed that the time has come to open the first cluster, emphasising that it is crucial for Ukraine to preserve the pace of its movement toward the European Union.

“We fully support this intention, as maintaining momentum directly affects the progress of the judicial reform, one of the key conditions for Ukraine. We have already achieved a lot, but much more lies ahead. In particular, it is necessary to reinstate international experts in the Selection Commission for members of the High Qualification Commission of Judges, as emphasised by the European Commission’s spokesperson. And, of course, to continue the reform of the Supreme Court, the need for its renewal has been underlined by the European Commission in its reports for three consecutive years,” said Mykhailo Zhernakov, Executive Director of the DEJURE Foundation.

Other participants included: Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine; Ivanna Klympush-Tsyntsadze, Chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Ukraine’s Integration into the EU; Kateryna Musiienko, international policy expert, ANTS Network; Alberto Fernández-Díez, member of the Cabinet of European Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi; and Manfredas Limantas, Head of the Rule of Law Team, DG NEAR, European Commission.

The event was co-organised by the DEJURE Foundation, the German Marshall Fund of the United States, the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, the German-Ukrainian Bureau, the National Interests Advocacy Network “ANTS”, and ICUV.