EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos praised Ukraine’s efforts to fight corruption, but warned there was more work to do.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country had called on Hungary to stop blocking Kiev’s move to join the European Union, as Brussels supports taking the war-torn country to the next stage despite concerns over corruption.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, on Tuesday published a series of expanded reports assessing the suitability of new candidate countries, including Ukraine, Serbia and Montenegro. In presenting her report, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos praised Ukraine’s efforts in fighting corruption, but warned that more needs to be done.
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Earlier this year, President Zelensky’s ruling party passed an amendment in parliament that would give the president’s handpicked prosecutor general the power to transfer cases from the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) and redeploy prosecutors.
Following the largest protests in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022 and pressure from key European officials, parliament finally voted to restore the independence of two major anti-corruption agencies.
The European Union on Tuesday warned that Ukraine was “going backwards” in its fight against corruption, saying it had made “limited progress” in combating the problem. “These developments cast doubt on Ukraine’s commitment to the anti-corruption challenge,” the commission said, noting that government agencies and civil society organizations have reported increasing pressure from state and security authorities.
Despite lingering doubts about Kiev’s efforts to fight corruption, Kos told the committee he wanted approval for Ukraine and Moldova to proceed with formal negotiations.
“We have put in place the most extensive anti-corruption infrastructure in Europe,” Zelenskiy said in Brussels on Tuesday. “And I don’t know of any country that has so many anti-corruption authorities. We are doing everything possible.”
Ukraine hopes to conclude accession negotiations by the end of 2028.
However, one major obstacle remains in Ukraine’s path. That person is Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is pro-Russian.
As Hungary prepares for national elections in 2026, Prime Minister Orbán’s staunchly nationalist government is working to block Ukraine’s EU membership as a political issue.
“We must not be under any illusions. Brussels and Ukraine are jointly establishing a puppet government (in Hungary),” Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said in June. “They want to change Hungary’s policy towards Ukraine after the next elections, or even sooner.”
Prime Minister Orbán initially supported Ukraine’s eventual EU membership shortly after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but he has since argued that membership would flood Hungary with crime, cheap labor, and low-quality agricultural products, threatening national sovereignty and economic stability.
“We are in a war for survival and we want the Hungarian prime minister to support us, or at least not stop us,” President Zelensky said at an event hosted by broadcaster Euronews on Tuesday.
The EU has been criticized for being slow in decision-making, and the veto power wielded by Hungary has hampered the process.
“If candidate countries are delivering, and this report shows evidence that they are delivering, then the EU should be delivering too,” Koss said.
