The European Parliament compared Zelensky’s new law to a coup d’état

The way in which the new law limiting the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) was adopted in Ukraine resembles a coup d’état.

This was stated by Member of the European Parliament and head of the European Parliament’s Anti-Corruption Committee, Niklas Herbst, in a comment to Euractiv.

According to the parliamentarian, the current situation is the result of the European Union’s political failure to effectively support Ukraine’s accession process.

“Progress had been made. But now that progress is falling apart because new legislation is being adopted in a manner that resembles a coup,” he said.

Earlier, EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Ukraine’s Reconstruction, Marta Kos, stated that Kyiv’s decision to limit the powers of the main anti-corruption bodies had caused “serious concern” in Brussels.

In addition, the EU is reportedly outraged by recent searches of NABU’s offices and the arrests of its employees.

On Tuesday, July 22, the Verkhovna Rada passed a bill that effectively stripped NABU and SAPO of their independence. That same day, the bill was signed into law by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.