Ukraine has been officially invited to accede to the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, as well as to join the OECD Working Group on Bribery.
The decision was announced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Working Group on Bribery, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU).
“The OECD Working Group on Bribery has decided to invite Ukraine to join the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, as well as the OECD Working Group on Bribery,” NABU said in a statement on Telegram.
The invitation recognizes Ukraine’s systematic progress in preventing corruption, aligning national legislation with international integrity standards, and strengthening cooperation with international partners, including the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Economy, and the Office of the President.
“Partners noted Ukraine’s progress in building an effective anti-corruption infrastructure and implementing transparency mechanisms. At the same time, Ukraine remains committed to further improving its legislation in line with the Convention’s requirements and OECD standards,” NABU added.
A special interagency working group, established by Presidential decree in 2022, has coordinated the country’s efforts, bringing together representatives of the government, law enforcement, and parliament. The group’s secretariat operates under NABU.
Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka emphasized that 46 countries — all OECD members or candidates — are parties to the Convention.
“They evaluate their own anti-corruption policies, so the assessment standards are extremely high,” he wrote on Facebook.
Kachka explained that the Convention focuses on combating the bribery of foreign officials in international business, with a strict monitoring mechanism that includes multi-stage, transparent, and public evaluations followed by concrete actions.
According to him, this decision will strongly support — and potentially even prove decisive for — Ukraine’s EU accession talks, as the assessment comes directly from the justice ministries and prosecutors of OECD member states.
