On August 31, a meeting of the Interagency Coordination Council for countering violations affecting the financial interests of Ukraine and the EU was held, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna.
The participants focused on Ukraine’s fulfilment of its obligations under the Association Agreement in terms of financial cooperation, as well as on interaction with the EU in this area.
“The status of candidate country for EU membership granted to Ukraine implies a strengthening of our responsibility for the use of financial resources provided by the European Union to Ukraine, including the criminalisation of violations and misuse of such resources. In its report, the EU explicitly states the importance of introducing liability for fraud with EU funds and providing guarantees to ensure sound financial management and protection of financial interests. Therefore, the original tasks set out in the Association Agreement should be expanded and supplemented,” Olha Stefanishyna said during the meeting.
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, against the backdrop of russia’s full-scale military aggression, when a significant share of Ukraine’s state budget revenues is generated by external revenues, in particular from the EU, the issue of ensuring effective protection of the financial interests of partners is becoming more acute.
“We cannot and do not have the right to use the assistance provided irresponsibly. Ukraine must accelerate and deepen its efforts to combat financial irregularities. This is part of our country’s path to EU membership,” the Deputy Prime Minister said.
During the meeting, the Head of the State Audit Service, Alla Basalaieva, presented a report on the state of cooperation with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
“We understand how important it is for the European Union to protect its financial interests now, in times of war. The EU has been one of the largest donors in the fight against the russian aggressor. The State Audit Service, as a contact point for organising interaction with OLAF, will provide all necessary assistance to European colleagues in the course of investigations,” the Head of the State Audit Service stressed in her report.
The participants also discussed the procedure for interaction between Ukrainian state authorities and local self-government bodies and the State Audit Service in organising cooperation with OLAF.
In addition, the meeting decided to set up a working group to develop regulations for the protection of the EU’s financial interests.
The group will be composed of representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the National Police, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the State Financial Monitoring Service, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine. (Government portal/Business World Magazine)
