The fresh law of Zelenski angers Brussels and social protests

On Tuesday, the Ukrainian Parliament approved a law which importantly limits the independency of the National Anti-corruption Office of Ukraine (NABU) and the peculiar Anti-corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), sending it to the direct supervision of the General Prosecutor's Office. A day earlier, the safety Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducted searches at these institutions, stopping at least 2 people. Although the authorities did not give details of the reasons or identities of the detainees, the convergence of these events with the next parliamentary vote and the signing of the bill by the president triggered a wide wave of criticism.

Back to 2013

For many observers and civilian activists, this decision has serious, even dramatic consequences. The manager of NABU, Semen Krywonos, stressed clearly during the press conference that the fresh law de facto eliminates the developed anti-corruption structure in Ukraine.

From now on, NABU and SAP have no guarantees that have previously allowed them to successfully carry out their tasks in the fight against high-level corruption. In order to reconstruct full and independent work, clear and unambiguous action is needed at legislative level to reconstruct the guarantees that Parliament has abolished. – declared NABU.

On Tuesday evening, over 1.2 1000 people gathered in Kiev, and the number of protesters continued to grow. The participants held banners with subtitles in their hands: Here we are again., No more lawlessness, How we got back to 2013 1 day. The assembled chanted passwords specified as Veto for the bill and Not for corruption in power. Similar protests against the fresh law were besides planned in another Ukrainian cities, including Lviv, Dnieper and Odessa.

Ukraine moves distant from the EU

The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asked the president of Ukraine for clarifications. EC spokesperson Guillaume Mercier reported that von der Leyen She expressed serious concern the effects of the fresh government and requested clear explanations from the Ukrainian Government. In this case she made direct contact with Volodymir Zelenski. Mercier stressed that compliance with the regulation of law and the effective fight against corruption are key requirements for Ukraine's membership of the European Union.

Zelenski's consequence to protests

On Wednesday on the X platform, the president of Ukraine informed of the gathering with representatives of the administration and law enforcement authorities. He stressed that protests on the streets and on social media were carefully monitored and not ignored.

We have analysed all concerns, all aspects of what needs to be changed and what needs to be intensified. I will propose to the ultimate Council of Ukraine a bill that will answer – wrote Zelenski.