The European Court of Auditors (ECA) has expressed reservations about significant amounts of financial assistance rendered to Ukraine.
The assistance program from 2007 to present has resulted in limited results, according to a statement of EU financial observers.
Prior to 2014 the reason for the low effectiveness of assistance from the European Union (EU) was the lack of desire to conduct reforms by the Ukrainian government. Following events on Independence Square some progress was made, however the results of the new EUR 11.2 billion assistance package remain tenuous, Germany’s public broadcaster Deutsche Welle said, citing ECA research.
One negative factor, excluding the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, is the strong influence of oligarchs on Ukrainian politics and the economy.
“The experts say the battle against corruption in Ukraine is taking place in fits and starts, inasmuch as the criminal justice system is not sufficiently independent from the government, and oligarchs have influence over political parties”, the ECA statement says.
In connection with the insufficient successes in the battle against corruption the overall assistance package is in jeopardy, the statement says. (Interfax/Business World Magazine)