Netherlands to stay 'strict' with Ukraine on rule of law reforms, foreign minister says

The Netherlands will continue to press Ukraine and other EU membership candidate countries to complete the required rule-of-law and anti-corruption reforms, Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said at a lecture in Maastricht on Aug. 27.

Ukraine has made little progress on rule-of-law reforms over the last year, despite these reforms being required to unlock billions in EU funds and to advance Kyiv's membership application.

"Enlargement has to strengthen the (European) Union as a whole. That's why we must be strict, but also fair and engaged," Berendsen said in the annual Europe Speech organized by Studio Europa Maastricht.

"An intensive accession process still lies ahead in which Ukraine will have to implement an extensive reform agenda, not least when it comes to the rule of law and the fight against corruption," Berendsen said.

Berendsen's remarks largely echo what he told the Kyiv Independent during an interview in March.

EU leaders agreed in June to formally open the first of six so-called enlargement clusters with Ukraine.

The first cluster, essentially a to-do list of reforms, addresses the rule of law and anti-corruption efforts required by Ukraine if it is to advance any further in its EU integration process.

The parliament has failed to pass laws addressing the 10 priorities highlighted by the EU's enlargement chief, Marta Kos, and former Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Taras Kachka.

This led the EU to explicitly tie the fulfillment of those reforms by the end of 2026 to the receipt of EU funding.

"But we're also fair that when a country meets certain criteria, we need to move ahead," Berendsen said.

The minister added that while rule-of-law and anti-corruption work is crucial for the Netherlands, reading about new corruption cases should not necessarily be interpreted as Kyiv failing to improve.

"If more corruption cases come into the media or become public, it could also mean that combating corruption is better, because otherwise you would not have cases become public," Berendsen said.

The minister also made it clear that despite concerns about the rule of law, "Ukraine's accession is of great importance to European security."

"As far as the Dutch government is concerned, Ukraine's future is irrefutably in the European Union."

More broadly, Berendsen mentioned that his government supports proposals to amend the EU accession process to add additional rule-of-law safeguards for newly joining member countries.

That comes ahead of an expected discussion on enlargement reforms by EU leaders when they meet Oct. 15-16.

"We will present some ideas on this specifically somewhere in the coming days," Berendsen said.