SSU reform and EU practices top agenda of expert roundtable in Kyiv
November 17, 2021
On 12 November, experts from the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM), NATO Representation, US and Canadian Embassies to Ukraine joined a roundtable “Current problems of implementation of law-enforcement functions of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) in modern environment”, which took place in the premises of the National Academy of the Security Service of Ukraine.
Participants raised issues in relation to transferring the pre-trial investigation powers from the SSU to other agencies, delineation of competencies with the police, consistency of the newest draft law on the SSU (3196-D) with other Ukrainian legislation, the level of public trust and possible level of transparency of the SSU activities.
Everyone agreed that reform is a gradual and sensitive process, which thus should include such roundtables helping to crystalize the best ideas and elaborate a joint approach to the SSU reform and development, considering all the possible problematic issues at legal and functional levels considering previous experience.
The Rector of the Academy Andrii Cherniak stressed that the Academy would like to become a modern hub of expertise in the field of national and state security, uniting leading experts and practitioners from various institutions, including international ones.
“The high level of expertise of the meeting is due to the need to develop a coordinated position on reforming the SSU,” said Mr Cherniak. “The reform should not be for the sake of changes, but for the sake of strengthening the efficiency of the Security Service of Ukraine.”
The speakers represented a wide variety of domestic agencies, research institutions and media, including the SSU, Verkhovna Rada, Cabinet of Ministers, National Security and Defence Council, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, and the SSU National Academy.
