Brussels demands Ukraine punish corrupt officials as condition for EU membership – Politico

Ukraine must hold corrupt politicians and businesspeople accountable if it wants to become part of the European Union.

EU Commissioner for Justice Michael McGrath said this in an interview with Politico, reports Censor.NET.

New condition for EU accession

McGrath stressed that governments of EU member states will not support Ukraine in its bid to join the bloc unless it can prove it has put in place an effective system to tackle crime at the highest levels of power.

The European Commissioner acknowledged that the reform process in Ukraine is a long road. In his view, Kyiv is making "maximum efforts" to fight corruption.

"Every candidate country must have a robust system to deal with potential cases of high-level corruption. There has to be a reliable system for investigation and, ultimately, for prosecution and conviction, as well as a demonstrated track record of effectiveness in this area. That is what we require of all our member states and, of course, of those who wish to join the European Union," McGrath added.

The European Commissioner also said that "the same standards apply to all candidate countries," adding that "the rule of law and justice reforms lie at the core of the accession process."

"We have a very open and honest relationship with the Ukrainian authorities regarding what the requirements are," he added.

He also noted that if rule-of-law standards are not met, there will be no support from EU member states on the issue of Ukraine’s accession.

Mindichgate

Earlier, Censor.NET reported that NABU was conducting searches at Mindich's residence, who left Ukraine a few hours before the searches.
As reported, on Tuesday, 4 November, searches were conducted in one of the branches of the separate divisions of NNEGC "Energoatom" in connection with a corruption case.
The NABU is also conducting searches at the home of former Energy Minister Halushchenko and at "Energoatom".
The NABU and the SAPO announced a large-scale operation to expose corruption in the energy sector.
Current Minister of Energy Svitlana Hrynchuk appears on recordings obtained by NABU as part of its investigation into corruption in the energy sector.
Later, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau uncovered an office in central Kyiv belonging to the family of former MP and current Russian senator Andrii Derkach, where a "black ledger" was kept, cash was tracked, and money-laundering operations were organized.
On 11 November, NABU released recordings featuring Minister Halushchenko and Mindich.
Chernyshova has been served with a notice of suspicion of illicit enrichment under Operation "Midas."
One of the suspects, Dmytro Basov, was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 40 million.
Halushchenko's former adviser Myroniuk was remanded in custody with bail set at UAH 126 million.
The Cabinet of Ministers has submitted proposals to the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) to impose personal sanctions against Tymur Mindich and Oleksandr Tsukerman following an NABU investigation into corruption in the energy sector.
Earlier, Ihor Myroniuk and Energoatom’s executive director for security, Dmytro Basov, featured on the NABU tapes under the alias "Tenor", were remanded in custody for 60 days.
Another suspect, Lesia Ustymenko, was also placed in pre-trial detention for 60 days.
The High Anti-Corruption Court has ruled on a preventive measure for Ihor Fursenko, a suspect in an energy-sector corruption case (known on the NABU tapes as "Roshyk").
On 13 November, the High Anti-Corruption Court arrested Liudmyla Zorina, with bail set at 12 million hryvnia.
Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against Mindich and Tsukerman.