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Statement of Rep. Danny K. Davis on Ukraine Success in Fighting Corruption

03/21/19
Statement of Rep. Danny K. Davis on Recent Ukraine Reform Successes 
March 21, 2019
 
 
Ukraine is often in the news. Sometimes the news is about the ongoing Russian occupation of and aggression against that brave country. At times, news stories focus on corruption and the fight against corruption waged by the government, civil society, law enforcement, and Ukraine’s resilient free press.
 
Lost in all this is any sense of the progress the country is making in combating this scourge. A recent visit to Washington by representatives of one of Ukraine’s most respected think tanks, the Institute for Economic Research-- brought important clarity on where the fight against corruption stands in a report entitled Ukraine’s Fight Against Corruption: The Economic Front and can be accessed at: http://www.ier.com.ua/files/publications/Policy_papers/IER/2018/Anticorruption_Report_EN.pdf
 
For the first time, a major report by respected Ukrainian economists and reformers in cooperation with respected Western economists has reviewed the data and concluded that reforms have reduced corruption in Ukraine by 6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. This is a major achievement that deserves greater acknowledgment from Congress and from the international community. As the report makes abundantly clear the most progress has been in the reform of the formerly corrupt gas trade, in public procurement, in open data, and in the reduction of corruption in the tax administration.  Much remains to be done especially in arena of reform of the justice system.
 
The driving force in the movement to root out corruption is Civil Society.  Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming elections in Ukraine, I urge Members, and everyone interested in the fate of this pivotal country, to follow the progress made in combating corruption.  As we work with other nations to promote peace and develop sustainability we remain mindful that the long-term success of those initiatives depend on a solid foundation of democracy committed to social and economic justice.
 
Ukraine still faces many challenges in this fight, but that fact should not obscure the significant improvements already made in this crucial sphere.Statement of Rep. Danny K. Davis on Recent Ukraine Reform Successes 
Ukraine is often in the news. Sometimes the news is about the ongoing Russian occupation of and aggression against that brave country. At times, news stories focus on corruption and the fight against corruption waged by the government, civil society, law enforcement, and Ukraine’s resilient free press.
 
Lost in all this is any sense of the progress the country is making in combating this scourge. A recent visit to Washington by representatives of one of Ukraine’s most respected think tanks, the Institute for Economic Research-- brought important clarity on where the fight against corruption stands in a report entitled Ukraine’s Fight Against Corruption: The Economic Front and can be accessed at: http://www.ier.com.ua/files/publications/Policy_papers/IER/2018/Anticorruption_Report_EN.pdf
 
For the first time, a major report by respected Ukrainian economists and reformers in cooperation with respected Western economists has reviewed the data and concluded that reforms have reduced corruption in Ukraine by 6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. This is a major achievement that deserves greater acknowledgment from Congress and from the international community. As the report makes abundantly clear the most progress has been in the reform of the formerly corrupt gas trade, in public procurement, in open data, and in the reduction of corruption in the tax administration.  Much remains to be done especially in arena of reform of the justice system.
 
The driving force in the movement to root out corruption is Civil Society.  Regardless of the outcome of the upcoming elections in Ukraine, I urge Members, and everyone interested in the fate of this pivotal country, to follow the progress made in combating corruption.  As we work with other nations to promote peace and develop sustainability we remain mindful that the long-term success of those initiatives depend on a solid foundation of democracy committed to social and economic justice.
 
Ukraine still faces many challenges in this fight, but that fact should not obscure the significant improvements already made in this crucial sphere.

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