Lutsk Passed the European Integrity Test; Odesa Came in Last – Transparency International Ukraine

Ukrainian cities have made significant progress in transparency and accountability, despite a setback in these areas in 2022. The situation has now stabilized. This is evidenced by the results of a study by Transparency International Ukraine titled “Anti-Corruption and Ethical Conduct: How Do City Councils Fare on the European Integrity Test?”

The study’s findings were presented today, July 1, at the Ukraine Media Center. This assessment is the fifth phase of the pilot European Cities Index, created to evaluate communities’ readiness to meet European standards of good governance. 

Analysts note that, given the numerous challenges, it is currently insufficient to focus solely on transparency. They are currently examining how cities comply with standards and how EU directives are taken into account. The study covered 10 regional centers: Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kropyvnytskyi, Lutsk, Lviv, Odesa, Poltava, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, and Kyiv. Analysts examined how city councils are implementing anti-corruption mechanisms, whether they have up-to-date documentation, whether they are using tools provided by the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK), whether they ensure citizens’ access to information, and whether local government officials are listed in registries of violations of anti-corruption legislation.

“Lutsk achieved the highest score—67 out of a possible 100. Khmelnytskyi took second place with 63 points, and Zaporizhzhia came in third with 61 points. Odesa scored the lowest with 30 points, followed by Poltava with 35 and Chernihiv with 36. The study showed that the Kyiv City Council and the Kyiv City State Administration still need to do some work to improve their results in the area of anti-corruption activities and cooperate more closely with each other,” said Olesia Koval, head of the “Transparent Cities” program.

According to her, the study indicates that Ukrainian municipalities generally have basic anti-corruption documents in place but still exhibit systemic gaps in the practical monitoring of integrity and the protection of whistleblowers.

The researchers also analyzed the availability of all necessary documents on official websites. The only city that met this requirement was Khmelnytskyi. Other achievements among the cities include the fact that all authorized officials in local government bodies submitted their declarations on time, and local anti-corruption bodies have been established.

Only two city councils—Kropyvnytskyi and Kharkiv—adopted clear rules for incentivizing whistleblowers and establishing proper procedures for processing reports. They also ensured that at least 10 municipal enterprises and institutions each were connected to the Unified Whistleblower Reporting Portal.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news