EU Project Pravo-Justice Initiates Thematic Workshops on the Rule of Law Roadmap

On 17 November, thematic workshops on the Rule of Law Roadmap under the Justice pillar started. The series of training events is organised by EU Project Pravo-Justice jointly with the Strengthening Ukraine’s EU Accession in the Rule of Law (3E4U) Project. The aim of the workshops is to familiarise Ukrainian authorities with the standards and best practices of the European Union and its member states to support Ukraine in implementing the activities envisaged by the Rule of Law Roadmap.

Representatives of all authorities that are members of the Justice Sector Expert Group, including the Office of the President, the Ministry of Justice, the Verkhovna Rada, the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, the High Council of Justice, the High Qualification Commission of Judges, the State Judicial Administration, the Office of the Prosecutor General, etc. are invited to participate in the thematic workshops.

"The European Commission has already started assessing the progress of the Rule of Law Roadmap and has identified priority steps for Ukraine, including about 40 measures in the justice sector. Such a level of trust from the EC obliges us to ensure timely and high-quality implementation of all measures, taking into account the recommendations of our partners. That is why we have launched thematic workshops to facilitate in-depth work through each stage and integrate best international practices,” said Nataliia Panchuk, Director General of the Directorate for Strategic Planning and European Integration of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.

For his part, Wolfgang Nozar, Head of the Rule of Law, Anti-Fraud and Financial Management Unit, Directorate-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations, European Commission, added that the EU Enlargement Report on Ukraine 2025 showed progress in many areas, but that much remained to be done to ensure the proper functioning of the justice system.

“The Rule of Law Roadmap is the best guide for implementing the necessary reforms. Its successful implementation requires closer cooperation between key stakeholders, a good elaboration of the content of the reforms, and sufficient political will to move them forward,” he said.

According to him, these workshops will greatly assist in the implementation of the Rule of Law Roadmap and will become a good practice that can be extended to the implementation of other Roadmaps, as well as the Action Plan on National Minorities.

Over the course of five days, participants will address various topics such as:

• Independence and institutional capacity of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine;
• Justice system reform and building institutional capacity of the judiciary
• Judicial independence, quality and efficiency, and judicial training;
• Functioning of the prosecution service and prosecutorial self-governance;
• Legal education and other legal institutions.

“The workshops have brought together all those who are responsible for the implementation of the Roadmap: government agencies, civil society, and international partners. This configuration is in line with the best practices of the EU and candidate countries, as coordination, inclusiveness and external expertise are key factors for the success of rule of law reforms. We are also starting our work at a time when we have clear benchmarks – this year's European Commission Enlargement Report and the Civil Society Shadow Report on Chapters 23 and 24,” said Oksana Tsymbrivska, Team Leader of EU Project Pravo-Justice.

She also emphasised that the workshops were a practical tool for transition to regular work in expert subgroups. According to her, it is such daily technical work, although less visible, that determines the quality and speed of progress in the European integration sections.

“The workshops involve 26 international experts from EU and candidate countries. Their experience allows Ukraine to avoid mistakes and find solutions adapted to our context,” summed up Team Leader of EU Project Pravo-Justice.

Artem Shaipov, Head of Legal and Policy Advice at 3E4U Project (GIZ), stressed that the Strengthening Ukraine's EU Accession in the Rule of Law (3E4U) Project, implemented by the GIZ on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, will continue supporting Ukrainian partners in implementing the Rule of Law Roadmap and other rule of law reforms related to EU accession.