Rule of law on the path to the EU: DEJURE and AntAC held a briefing for international partners

Today, June 17, the DEJURE Foundation and the Anti-Corruption Action Centre held a briefing for international partners on rule-of-law reforms on Ukraine’s path to the EU.

The event took place after the official opening of the negotiating cluster “Fundamentals” for Ukraine. It is precisely this cluster that concentrates issues key to European integration: judicial reform, anti-corruption policy, democratic institutions, and fundamental rights.

During the briefing, DEJURE experts presented three topics:

• Rule-of-law reforms and the role of the EU. DEJURE presented the results of questions on reforms and European integration within the framework of a nationwide KIIS survey conducted in May–June 2026. The data show that, despite the war, Ukrainians insist on continuing reforms, are dissatisfied with the authorities’ actions in implementing them, and firmly support the role of international partners as leverage for substantive change on the path to the EU.
• Supreme Court reform and integrity declarations. Experts noted that without real accountability for lack of integrity, judicial reform remains incomplete. This point is underscored by the cases of judges Pavlo Vovk and Vsevolod Kniaziev (in which four more judges have received notices of suspicion). Separately, the discussion addressed draft law No. 13165-2 on integrity declarations: the adopted text does not meet the deep-seated need for reform and does not create an effective mechanism for cleansing the judicial system.
• Bar reform. DEJURE presented new analysis on the problems of bar self-governance and the changes needed for an independent and high-integrity Bar.

The discussion focused on reforms of practical significance for the negotiation process with the EU. The key takeaway of the briefing: after the opening of the “Fundamentals” cluster, Ukraine must not slow down but instead increase the pace of change in the area of the rule of law.

Representatives of Ukraine’s international partners took part in the event.

The briefing was organized by the DEJURE Foundation and the Anti-Corruption Action Center with support from the MATRA program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.