Strategic directions for transformation outlined in EU accession roadmaps presented in Kyiv

On February 7, 2025, Kyiv hosted the Forum “Ukraine’s Accession to the EU: Shaping the Transformation Agenda,” which brought together a wide range of representatives from public authorities, the European Union, and the expert community to discuss EU accession. The event focused on Ukraine’s transformation plans concerning the rule of law and public administration, specifically roadmaps designed to guide Ukraine towards achieving EU membership criteria in the coming years, as well as a roadmap for the functioning of democratic institutions.

“I would like to thank both the member states and the European Commission. Over 1,000 specialists from European institutions are currently involved in the negotiation process with Ukraine. And of course, we will soon have discussions with them regarding the roadmaps we are presenting to you today. European integration is a nationwide process involving all branches of government, civil society, and the entire country. This is a complex task, as virtually everything depends on us. I am convinced that despite the complexity of involving numerous stakeholders, the constant pressure, and any difficulties that may arise, we will navigate this path together,” stated Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration – Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna, in her opening speech to the conference participants.

Commenting on the upcoming negotiation schedule, the Vice Prime Minister noted that the approval of roadmaps in the areas of the rule of law and public administration is a prerequisite for opening negotiations on Cluster 1 “Fundamentals” of the EU accession process. The roadmap on the functioning of democratic institutions is crucial for securing the support of EU member states to open negotiations with Ukraine.

“We hope that Ukraine will provide these roadmaps in the coming weeks; consequently, we will be able to open negotiations on the Cluster 1 in April and be ready to open the next ones in June,” the official added.

“We clearly understand that the European integration process is colossal in scope and will require maximum clarity and concentration from all democratic institutions, including the reform of numerous parliamentary processes. Therefore, together with my colleagues, we have proposed a draft law, the so-called “fast track” for European integration legislation. We are currently considering this draft law, and I believe it has the potential for adoption. It will significantly simplify the passage of many European integration draft laws, allowing them to be adopted in a single reading. Furthermore, we have significantly reformed the committee structure, and in each committee, we have established a subcommittee dedicated to European integration matters. This is crucial, as we have numerous clusters and directions, and we need committee members who can professionally address each section,” emphasized Ruslan Stefanchuk, the Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

During the event, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos addressed participants online. “Together with my team in Brussels and the EU Delegation to Ukraine, we are doing everything possible to ensure the negotiation process progresses as effectively as possible. I have already visited Warsaw to discuss with the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU how we can work together to secure the green light for opening the “Fundamentals” Cluster. It is important that you have clear roadmaps when we move to the stage of defining initial benchmarks for the first Cluster,” said the European Commissioner.

As a reminder, according to the negotiating framework approved by the European Union, roadmaps for the rule of law and public administration are necessary to open the first cluster of the negotiation process.

During the conference, Deputy Minister of Justice for European Integration Lyudmyla Suhak presented the strategic priorities of the roadmaps, summarising months of work within working negotiation groups, consultations with civil society, and multiple rounds of discussions with representatives of the European Commission.

The roadmap for the rule of law outlines key steps concerning the judicial system, the fight against corruption, human rights, and security. These roadmaps are based on issues that were the focus of bilateral Ukraine-EU meetings during the screening of Ukrainian legislation. Recommendations from the EU Enlargement Package 2024 for Ukraine have also been considered. The roadmaps are aligned with Ukraine’s international obligations and other strategic documents.

Specifically, the roadmap addresses improvements to the legal, strategic, and institutional framework for combating organised crime, strengthening interagency cooperation, enhancing anti-corruption mechanisms, fostering cooperation with EU member states and agencies in justice and home affairs, and ensuring reliable investigation, prosecution, and conviction practices across all areas of serious and organised crime, as well as money laundering, including parallel financial investigations and asset forfeiture.

Implementation of the document includes, among other things, optimising the court network and creating an administrative court to handle disputes with central authorities, as well as improving the system for selecting judges and prosecutors. A key element is the digitalisation of the entire judicial system.

“Last June, Ukraine received a negotiating framework that envisages the development of a number of documents, including a roadmap on the rule of law, the functioning of democratic institutions, and public administration reform. The Ministry of Justice is responsible for coordinating two of these documents, notably the Rule of Law Roadmap. As of today, this draft roadmap includes 474 measures. These represent large-scale strategic directions that will guide our course towards the EU,” emphasized the Deputy Minister of Justice.

The roadmap for strengthening democratic institutions covers issues such as the necessity of amending the Electoral Code and other laws to implement a transparent electoral process in the post-war period, increasing the transparency and accountability of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and, in particular, implementing a digital Parliament strategy. The roadmap also envisages the development of a state program to support volunteering and the “Accession Pulse” system for monitoring European integration.

Among the conference participants were: Oleksandr Korniienko, First Vice Speaker of the VR of Ukraine; Denys Maslov, Chairman of the VR Committee on Legal Policy; Anastasiia Radina, Chair of the VR Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy; Gert Jan Koopman, Acting Director-General of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations (DG NEAR); Olha Herasymiuk, Chair of the National Council of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting, and others.

ЗThe event was organized by the Office of the Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, in partnership with the project “Strengthening Ukraine’s EU Accession in the Rule of Law” (3*E4U), implemented on behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, and with the EU Project “Pravo-Justice,” implemented by Expertise France.