On 23 October 2025, in Kyiv, a coalition of civil society organisations led by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives (ALI) presented the Shadow Report to the European Commission’s 2024 Report on Ukraine. The report covers Chapters 23, ‘Judiciary and Fundamental Rights’ and 24, ‘Justice, Freedom and Security’ — chapters that the European Union considers fundamental to Ukraine’s integration process. The presentation became a platform for open dialogue between government, experts and European partners — about Ukraine’s progress towards EU integration and the challenges that still lie ahead.
The main goal of the Shadow Report is not criticism but to propose a roadmap for strengthening the state on its path to the EU. This was underlined by Svitlana Matviienko, Executive Director of the Agency for Legislative Initiatives:
The document contains more than 500 specific recommendations covering the rule of law, judicial independence, reform of law enforcement agencies, human rights protection and the fight against corruption and organised crime. The practical value of this analytical work was emphasised by Oksana Tsymbrivska, Head of the EU Project Pravo-Justice:
The event took place on the eve of the release of the new EU Enlargement Report, in which the European Union will assess Ukraine’s reform progress. As Katarína Mathernová, EU Ambassador to Ukraine, noted, the accession process should be measured not by speed, but by resilience:
Taras Kachka, Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, stressed in his remarks that cooperation between government, civil society and international partners is the key to reform effectiveness:
The importance of mutual support between government and civil society was also highlighted by Iryna Mudra, Deputy Head of the Office of the President:
She added that despite challenges, the President and his team have acted within their powers and at the necessary pace: ‘Over the past year, everything within the President’s powers has moved forward without delay’.
Experts, meanwhile, pointed out that progress in the justice sector remains uneven. Karyna Aslanyan, Head of the ‘Rule of Law’ Area at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, noted:
Yevhen Krapyvin, Head of the ‘Law and Order’ Area at the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, emphasised the need to ensure the full independence of the prosecution service — a key to fostering a European justice culture:
The Shadow Report is the result of joint work by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, Transparency International Ukraine, the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, Tomorrow’s Lawyer, Europe Without Barriers, European Pravda and the Ukrainian Bar Association. Its aim is to provide a comprehensive, independent assessment of Ukraine’s implementation of the European Commission’s recommendations, identify reform gaps and outline priorities for the next phase of the country’s movement towards EU membership.
The Shadow Report was prepared by a coalition of civil society organisations led by the Agency for Legislative Initiatives, under a grant provided by the EU Project Pravo-Justice, implemented by Expertise France. The content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
