EU to continue advising Ukraine on police reform

The Interior Ministry of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine and the representatives of the European Union have agreed to set up a joint working group to continue reforming Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.

The EU delegation involves Head of the European Union Advisory Mission on civil security sector reform in Ukraine Kestutis Lancinskas and Civilian Operations Commander Kenneth Deane, the press service of the Interior Ministry reports.

“The reform of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine is the key, visual reform in the country as everybody sees it. It is a large-scale, complex reform. We are grateful to the members of the advisory mission for help in carrying out this reform,” Interior Minister of Ukraine Arsen Avakov said.

According to him, Ukraine plans to maintain the pace of reform this year.

“We are interested in getting both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. It is important now to focus on the work of the Migration Service and the Emergency Service,” the Minister summed up.

According to Kenneth Dean, the mandate of the advisory mission has been adapted to new needs of the reform.

“We are pleased to cooperate and set to continue our work. The mandate of the Advisory Mission has been revised and modified according to the needs. From now on, we will pay more attention to conduct of criminal investigations, maintenance of public order and communications. The Advisory Mission representatives will work in Kharkiv and Lviv. For us, it is very important to cooperate with the Ministry,” the Civilian Operations Commander noted.

As a reminder, the police certification has been officially completed in Kyiv city and Kyiv region.