URC 2025: EU Integration Through Justice Reforms

From 10 to 11 July, a delegation of the German-Ukrainian Bureau, as part of our ongoing COSAC Reforms Initiative, participated in the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC) in Rome and its numerous side events. The URC annually convenes key stakeholders working on Ukraine—from governments and international institutions to the private sector and civil society—and provides an important platform to assess reform progress and set priorities for Ukraine’s recovery.

A key message we consistently raised in our exchanges was that Ukraine’s reconstruction cannot be separated from its European integration. Progress in justice and rule of law reforms—at the heart of EU Chapters 23 and 24—will be decisive for both recovery and accession.

While official panels emphasized advancements in governance, judicial reform, and anti-corruption efforts, discussions with Ukrainian civil society painted a more concerning picture. Several interlocutors highlighted increasing pressure on independent and critical civil society actors, as well as on anti-corruption institutions—developments that risk undermining reform credibility at a crucial moment.

These concerns were further reinforced by recent decisions in the run-up to the conference. Notably, the Ukrainian government has yet to appoint the selected candidate for the head of the Economic Security Bureau (ESBU), raising questions about the integrity and reliability of reform processes.

Ukraine’s EU membership perspective featured prominently throughout the conference and was reiterated by high-level participants, including the German Chancellor: “To be very clear, we fully support Ukraine on its path to EU membership. This includes reforms such as strengthening the rule of law and fighting corruption. Ukraine’s future is in the EU,” emphasized Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The conference ultimately highlighted a central tension: while political support for Ukraine’s EU path remains strong, sustained progress in rule of law, judicial independence, and anti-corruption is essential to maintain credibility. Ukraine’s sustainable recovery will depend not only on financial support, but on the strength of its democratic institutions and the integrity of its reform trajectory.

This visit wis the part of the project “Continuing Successful Anti-Corruption (COSAC) Reform Initiative”, funded by the Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt) and implemented by the German-Ukrainian Bureau (DUB) in cooperation with the Ukrainian NGO Center for Democratic Transformation “Mezha” in the EU and Ukraine.