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Corrupt Ukraine has no place in EU — Polish foreign minister

"The fastest way for Ukraine to lose the support of both the EU member states and the public in the member states is to go back to the bad old days of corruption," Radoslaw Sikorski stated

MOSCOW, July 23. /TASS/. Ukraine has no chance of joining the European Union until it tackles corruption, said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski in an interview with the Polish English-language TV channel TVP World.

"As a corrupt country Ukraine will not make it into the EU," said the head of Polish diplomacy. "The fastest way for Ukraine to lose the support of both the EU member states and the public in the member states is to go back to the bad old days of corruption."

On July 22, Vladimir Zelensky signed a law that effectively strips the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NACB) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SACPO) of independence, sparking protests in Kiev and other major cities.

According to the law that entered in force on July 23, the Prosecutor General becomes the head of the SACPO prosecutors, which practically puts the anti-corruption prosecutor's office to his subordination and influences the cases conducted by NACB. Also, the law lifts the ban on transferring cases from NACB to other bodies, and the Prosecutor General will now be able to take over NACB proceedings and transfer them to other prosecutors.