Parliament of Ukraine adopts legislation revising state asset management agency, essential for securing EU financial aid
Ukraine's Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) Reformation Brings Closer European Integration
After months of stalemate, Ukraine's parliament finally passed the much-awaited ARMA reformation bill on June 18, 2025. This long-overdue move will help Ukraine raise €3.883 billion in EU funding, a crucial step towards European integration and complying with the EU's Ukraine Facility plans.
Boosted by the backing of 253 lawmakers, this legislation will revamp ARMA, Ukraine's go-to agency for tracking down, recovering, and managing assets seized in criminal proceedings—particularly those snatched during corruption cases.
The reformation package proposes several stringent alterations like higher integrity and qualification standards for leadership aspirants, more open competitions with civic participation, independent external audits, defined deadlines for asset management appointments, and the requirement for certified professionals in charge of managing seized assets. Should these measures be successfully implemented, management practices will significantly improve, ensuring greater transparency and eliminating arbitrary control over state-made seizures.
The EU has dubbed ARMA's reform essential to receiving further financial aid. The deadline set was March 2025, making this bill passage a critical condition for unlocking €600 million in immediate aid, as well as the accumulated €3.283 billion under the Ukraine Facility program.
Although anti-corruption experts, lawmakers, and Transparency International support the reforms, discussions took months to finalize following multiple bill iterations introduced in December 2024 and January.
ARMA, however, has expressed disapproval of the proposed legislation, maintaining they've already carried out significant reforms since 2023. Transparency International's response was that ARMA's public communication suggests the agency's main focus is protecting current leadership interests, rather than pushing for meaningful reforms. This could indicate lingering self-interest within ARMA that might stall or dilute the reform's implementation.
Ukraine's ARMA reformation forms part of a broader anti-corruption and EU integration endeavor pressed on by the country, an effort made even more challenging by ongoing conflicts with Russia.
Sources: [1], [2], [4], [5]
- The ARMA reformation, crucial for raising €3.883 billion in EU funding and complying with the EU's Ukraine Facility plans, significantly transforms Ukraine's business and politics.
- The proposed measures, if successfully implemented, will ensure greater transparency in Ukraine's finance sector, a key step towards European integration and addressing general-news issues like corruption.
