Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak delivered a video address at the conference "Ukraine on the Path to the OECD and Accession to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention."
The event was attended by parliamentary and governmental representatives, representatives of foreign diplomatic missions, civil society, business, and international partners. Special guests included U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Todd D. Robinson, EU Ambassador to Ukraine Katarína Mathernová, French Ambassador Gaël Veyssière, and former French Finance Minister Michel Sapin.
Andriy Yermak summarized the work carried out since the President formed a special group to develop proposals for participation in the OECD Working Group on Bribery.
Over the past two years:
- Two concepts for reforming the liability of legal entities were developed and presented.
- Legislative drafts on liability of legal entities and prohibition of tax evasion of illicit gains were prepared and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada in collaboration with MPs.
- More than 50 meetings, sessions, and focus groups were held to draft and refine legislative changes.
- Six public events were organized to highlight Ukraine's accession to the Anti-Bribery Convention.
- Eight meetings of the OECD Working Group on Bribery took place, during which three interim reports were presented on Ukraine's progress toward joining the convention.
The Head of the Presidential Office expressed gratitude to all government bodies and partners involved in the legislative process. He also called on the Verkhovna Rada to expedite the consideration of the proposed bills.
"We are now on the home stretch – the two-year deadline set by the OECD to implement the necessary legislative changes to comply with the Anti-Bribery Convention is nearing its end. We must unite our efforts to ensure that these legislative amendments are approved by the end of the year for the success of our application to join the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and for the success of our country," Andriy Yermak stated.
As chair of the working group established by a presidential decree, Andriy Yermak expressed hope that during the December plenary session of the OECD Working Group – where the final, fourth report on the progress of reforms is expected – the Ukrainian delegation will be able to inform representatives from 44 countries that the key changes have been completed and Ukraine will submit an official request to join the convention by February of next year.