Members of the Verkhovna Rada felt offended by the US after the presentation of a list of reforms to Ukraine

The Chairman of the Committee on Anti-Corruption Policy of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, Yaroslav Yurchishin, has referred to the presentation of a list of priority reforms to Kyiv by the United States as both “offensive” and a “misguided step.”

Yurchishin made these remarks in an interview with the Ukrainian radio station New Voice.

Earlier on Tuesday, the American Embassy posted on its website that Washington had delivered to Kyiv a list of proposed priority reforms as part of their support for Ukraine and its efforts towards European integration. The Embassy also quoted President Joe Biden’s statement that the United States aims to create conditions for investments from American and European companies by promoting reforms in Ukraine.

“In reality, this is a significant challenge, linking reform efforts to the acquisition of weapons. In my opinion, this is a very misguided step by our partners. Regardless of the circumstances, reform is our internal task. It can be tied to IMF funds, it can be linked to the plan for European integration, or NATO accession. However, the defense of Ukraine is essentially the defense of Western values,” Yurchishin stated.

The deputy believes that linking the reform of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office or the Bureau of Economic Security (BES) to the provision of weapons is short-sighted.

“It’s regrettable that it has come to this,” Yurchishin emphasized.

On February 28, 2022, Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed Ukraine’s application for EU membership. The heads of EU member states and governments approved Ukraine and Moldova as candidates for EU membership at the summit in Brussels on June 23, 2022. The European Commission set forth seven conditions for granting candidate status to Ukraine, with judicial reform being the most complex among them. Among the requirements are constitutional court reform, finalizing changes in the High Council of Justice and the High Qualification Commission of Judges, as well as continuing the fight against corruption.

Obtaining candidate status is just the beginning of a lengthy process toward EU membership. Turkey has been a candidate since 1999, North Macedonia since 2005, Montenegro since 2010, and Serbia since 2012. Croatia was the last country to join the EU in 2013, a process that took ten years.