Dirty Money Spoils Cooperation

Recently Brussels hosted the first Ukraine-EU trilateral meeting on the level of ministers of justice and internal affairs in the history of the Ukraine-EU relationship. The Ukrainian delegation at the negotiations with European Commission and Denmark representatives (recall that Denmark will chair the EU until the end of 2002) was headed by Minister of Justice Oleksandr Lavrynovych. The next day he informed a Kyiv press conference on the results of the meeting.

According to Mr. Lavrynovych, major attention was paid to further developing the cooperation between the parties according to the EU-Ukraine action plan in the spheres of justice and internal affairs signed last December. He remarked that Ukraine is the only country which, not being an EU member or official candidate for membership, cooperates with this organization in such a format. Commenting on the schedule of implementing the plan, the minister stressed that priorities in the cooperation will be issues of the readmission of illegal migrants and migration, demarcation and developing border infrastructure, fighting organized crime, preventing and combating money laundering and narcotics trafficking, and court reform. Minister Lavrynovych said that it is planned to hold the first round of negotiations according to the results of the Brussels meeting as early as late November, in part, on readmission, and to intensify the dialog on the visa regime and border regime. “An important result of the meeting was Ukraine accepting the proposition on the EU participation in modernizing its eastern and northern borders,” the minister stressed. In his view, this is evidence that the EU considers the prospective for broadening the Schengen zone external border (the tightness of which affects many Ukrainians). The minister of justice called the results of the negotiations on legislative cooperation another political precedent in Ukraine-EU relations. “For the first time Ukraine was invited to cooperate with the Eurojust organization and take part in the European Legal Network seminar this year, while earlier the EU categorically opposed [its participation].”

However, against the background of the high points in the general tone of the negotiations less pleasant notes could be heard. In Mr. Lavrynovych’s words, an “unpleasant nuance” was the EU reaction to Ukraine’s “regulating” the money laundering issue. The EU, the head of Ukrainian delegation to Brussels stated, believes our acting legislation insufficient. It threatens Ukraine with sanctions, in part, with closing Ukrainian banks’ correspondent accounts abroad. “The EU position is rather harsh: if the law On Fighting Money Laundering is not implemented by the end of 2002, the term defined by FATF, strong sanctions will be taken against Ukraine,” said Mr. Lavrynovych. Simultaneously, the minister claimed that the European Union does not have an official stand that Ukraine cannot enter it. “Quite the contrary, today the EU considers Ukraine’s possible future membership in it a real opportunity.” The minister of justice expressed his hope for Verkhovna Rada’s assistance in solving the issue of passing the law in question. This October the parliament postponed passing the law On Preventing and Fighting the Legalization (Laundering) of Criminal Incomes, sending it for another second reading.