Ukraine may achieve progress in fighting bribery only in 10 to 15 years, says Miklos Marshall, Regional Director, Europe and Central Asia, Transparency International. In order to make the struggle against corruption more effective, pressure must be exerted on the political elites. The independent mass media should do this within the country at the same time as certain forces work from the outside, Marshall says. “The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland were lucky to have this pressure exerted by the European Union during the process of these countries’ accession.”
This is the precisely the reason why closer relations with the EU will help Ukraine fight corruption in a more effective way. Marshall is also convinced that no qualitative changes in this sphere can be achieved within a short period of time. In the countries that recently joined the EU, these changes were also taking place slowly, but they have managed to reach significant results.
