G7 wants to stay on the ball in the fight against corruption in Ukraine
Published: Thursday, May 9th 2024, 16:40
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The justice ministers of the G7 countries have gathered in Venice to discuss the fight against corruption, the situation in Ukraine and joint efforts in the fight against organized crime. According to the Italian hosts, the aim of the two-day meeting was to strengthen Ukraine's democratic institutions and prevent any form of unlawful use of money earmarked for reconstruction. In addition to Germany and Italy, the G7 group of leading democratic industrial nations also includes France, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Canada and the USA.
"The issue of corruption is a threefold problem for Ukraine," Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann told the German Press Agency on his flight to the lagoon city on Thursday. Firstly, every euro that seeps away in corruption instead of being spent on equipping soldiers weakens Ukraine in its defense against Russian aggression. Secondly, Ukraine has the goal of one day becoming a member of the European Union.
"If Ukraine wants to take the path towards membership, it must fight the high level of corruption," emphasized the FDP politician. Thirdly, it is about a future in which there will hopefully be peace in Ukraine again. Reconstruction would not succeed without foreign aid. However, potential donor countries are likely to be less willing to help if large parts of the aid seep away in corruption.
Bushman said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi was aware of this problem and had therefore made the fight against corruption a focus of his work. "We want to support him in this," said Buschmann.
While the foreign ministers of the G7 countries have been meeting regularly for some time, the Justice Ministers' Round Table is still relatively new. It met for the first time in Berlin in November 2022 at Buschmann's initiative. A second meeting followed in July 2023. A Ukrainian delegation was invited to Venice for the agenda items relating to Ukraine.
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