On May 14, 2025, in Brussels (Kingdom of Belgium), an international conference titled “Ukraine on the Path to EU Accession: Enlargement Policy and the Impact of the Rule of Law” was held with the participation of Deputy Chairman of the Commission Oleksiy Omelyan and Commission Member Vitaliy Gatseliuk. The event was organized by representatives of the European Parliament.
Welcoming the participants of the conference, Member of the European Parliament João Fernando Cotrim de Figueiredo and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos emphasized the significant contribution of Ukrainian legal institutions to the European integration process and the importance of strengthening the rule of law to achieve common goals, especially under the conditions of military aggression.
During the discussion panel “The Impact of the Rule of Law in Ukraine,” the issues concerning judicial independence and institutional transparency in Ukraine, aimed at aligning national legal and administrative structures with EU standards were considered.
Oleksiy Omelyan provided an overview of the current situation, procedures, and challenges faced by the Commission. He mentioned, in particular, the shortage of judicial personnel, outdated material and technical base of the Commission, and the consequences of the ongoing war.
Despite these difficulties, the Deputy Chairman of the HQCJU noted that the Commission has achieved significant results: competitions to local courts and the High Anti-Corruption Court have been completed; the composition of the Public Integrity Council and the Public Council of International Experts has been renewed; new competitions have been announced for appellate courts and for the Appeals Chamber of the High Anti-Corruption Court, as well as the largest candidate selection process for the positions of local court judges in Ukraine’s history.
He also spoke about improvements of internal regulatory documents and the introduction of an electronic qualification exam.
Vitaliy Gatseliuk stressed that the rule of law is a key element on Ukraine’s path to the European Union, enshrined in the Treaty on European Union, and forms the foundation for candidate countries. He emphasized the importance of establishing resilient institutions based on the rule of law as a prerequisite for Ukraine’s recovery.
Additionally, he outlined three main areas of the HQCJU’s work: ensuring functional resilience, trustbuilding through the involvement of civil society in the judicial selection processes, and coordination with international partners. For their successful implementation, it is necessary to improve the legislation, increase the capacity of the Commission and optimize the processing of candidates data.
The Commission Member underlined that the HQCJU strictly adheres to commitments enshrined in international framework documents and highlighted the importance of cooperation with international experts and civil society to enhance transparency and trust in the judiciary.
Oleksiy Omelyan and Vitaliy Gatseliuk expressed their gratitude to European partners for their support and voiced hopes for continued cooperation.
The conference was also attended by Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration – Minister of Justice of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine Svitlana Tereshchenko, Head of the Mission of Ukraine to the EU Vsevolod Chentsov, European integration expert from the “Pravo-Justice” organization, former judge of the Court of Justice of the EU (2016–2023) Virgilijus Valančius, members of the Ukrainian Parliament, Members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission, and other Ukrainian and international experts.