Ukraine Risks Losing Part of EU Financial Assistance Over Unfinished HACC Competition

TI Ukraine Deputy Executive Director for Legal Affairs Kateryna Ryzhenko discussed the problem of implementing these Ukraine Facility milestones on Hromadske Radio.

In response to a Radio Liberty inquiry, a European Commission spokesperson confirmed that two milestones linked to tranches Ukraine has already received remain unfulfilled. The fourth and fifth tranches have been “suspended” as a result — nearly €300 million under the fourth and over €380 million under the fifth.

The outstanding milestone in the fourth tranche concerns increasing HACC staffing levels, while the fifth tranche requires the entry into force of legislation on the review of judges’ integrity declarations and verification procedures. The final deadlines for fulfilling these conditions are June 30 and September 29, 2026 respectively.

“Of the two milestones, one we can potentially still fulfill — the draft law on judges’ declarations, although questions remain about the text of the law. The second milestone — the HACC judges we were supposed to appoint more than a year ago — is a different matter. The competition is now in its final stretch, but we are unlikely to complete the appointments before the deadline. And so there is a real chance we will lose the funds we were supposed to receive for fulfilling this recommendation,” said Kateryna Ryzhenko.

She identified several factors behind the failure to select and appoint HACC judges on time:

“The first factor is the general shortage of human resources in our country. This is no secret — many people are fighting, many have left, and many, unfortunately, are not ready, are unable, or are not in a position to participate in a competition for judicial appointments. There were also serious questions about the competition that took place a year ago. Many candidates dropped out at early stages, never even reaching the interview.”

As a result, a repeat competition had to be launched, which consumed more time, Ryzhenko noted: “And so we now face a potential situation where we do not receive the money for this.”

On May 29 the High Qualifications Commission of Judges (HQCJ) completed the dossier review and interview stage for 22 candidates for HACC judicial positions and published the competition rankings.

The next step lies with the High Council of Justice, which may endorse the candidates or decline to submit a nomination to the President of Ukraine — even after a completed competition — if doubts remain about a candidate’s integrity or professional ethics, or if other circumstances emerge that could negatively affect public trust in the judiciary following their appointment.