There are significantly more corruption scandals in the Ukrainian media space, despite the fact that society considers corruption to be one of the biggest problems of the state.
However, the presence of a large number of corruption scandals indicates that corruption is discussed and not hushed up.
This was reported on the air of the Unified News telethon by the host of Vikna-novini Yana Brenzei told the EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Maternova.
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Fighting corruption in Ukraine
The host asked Maternova about the fact that recently in Ukraine there has been more and more news about corruption, although by all indicators the level of corruption in the country is falling, and Ukrainian society calls the fight against corruption one of the priorities.
— Before the Revolution of Dignity, corruption in Ukraine was more widespread, but then there were no systemic efforts to overcome it. Now cases of corruption and scandals quickly become public and spread. This means that the system has begun to fight it, — she said.
The Ambassador recalled that today not only law enforcement agencies are trying to combat the issue of corruption, but also the government, journalists, civil society and individual anti-corruption institutions.
That is why, according to Maternova, one can regularly see corruption scandals in the news, since the fight against corruption continues in Ukraine.
— They talk and write about this (cases of corruption, — Ed.). I would be much more concerned about silence, because it would mean that corruption is being hushed up, it is “under the carpet”. But now everything is in plain sight, — explains the EU Ambassador to Ukraine.
The European Ambassador added that the widespread corruption in Ukraine was also facilitated by the Russian narrative that the Kremlin has been trying to impose for over a decade.
— It is important to note that corruption is one of the important themes of Russian disinformation. For over a decade, Russia has been systematically spreading the narrative that Ukraine is extremely corrupt, almost a bankrupt state. However, after the full-scale invasion, the world saw your country in a completely different light. It turned out that Ukraine is not a bankrupt state at all. But this narrative of corruption remains persistent, — added Maternová.
The EU Ambassador to Ukraine also recalled that over the past 10 years, various institutions have been created in the Ukrainian state that have begun to deal specifically with anti-corruption efforts. This, she adds, should be strengthened on Ukraine's path to the European Union.
Katarina Maternová added that overcoming corruption will allow Ukraine to attract more investment, since those who invest in the country will find it easier to understand the rules by which the state functions.
