Ukraine Is “Mafia State” And Europeans Don’t Want It To Join EU, Says German Media

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Written by Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher

Ukraine has failed to fulfill over ten mandatory requirements to join the European Union, leading to major disappointment among Europeans, the Berliner Zeitung reported. The German media report comes as new data shows that ordinary Ukrainians are more concerned about corruption than the war with Russia.

The newspaper highlighted that European diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that Ukraine is implementing the fastest and most extensive reforms among the EU candidate countries. However, after Ukraine gained candidate status for EU membership, the country did not fully meet the expectations of European politicians, despite claims of significant progress.

Independent research institutes and centers are scrutinizing Ukraine’s supposed “incredible” progress. According to the article, Ukraine is currently taking too long to make decisions in the fight against corruption.

At the same time, the newspaper emphasized that the Vienna Institute of International Studies found that Ukraine has failed to satisfy more than ten EU demands.

In particular, the EU demanded that the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) finally be able to investigate corrupt Ukrainian officials, but there were no results.

“The same applies to Ukraine’s practice, criticized by the EU, of automatically closing legal proceedings against corruption suspects after the preliminary investigation period ends — which amounts to giving carte blanche to those who steal public funds,” the report added.

Therefore, the German newspaper concluded that all these factors portray Ukraine as a “mafia state.”

Previously, internal political rivalry in Ukraine intensified amid corruption scandals. The National Anti-Corruption Office of Ukraine (NABU) and SAPO reported that they had exposed the head of one of the factions in the Verkhovna Rada (the lower house of the Ukrainian parliament) for offering illegal benefits to other deputies in exchange for votes on bills. Later, Ukrainian media reported that MP Yulia Tymoshenko and David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People party faction of current Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Verkhovna Rada, are suspected of corruption.

The issue of bribery has remained a major concern in Ukrainian society for the past year and a half, surpassing even military operations and attacks on cities in terms of anxiety, according to Vadym Denysenko, head of the analytical center Dilova Stolytsia, speaking on Pryamiy.

“The topic of corruption, unfortunately, remains the number one topic that worries Ukrainians the most. And it worries more than the situation on the front and the shelling of peaceful cities. This topic will be dominant not only in the near future, but also for at least one and a half to two years,” the studio guest noted.

According to Denysenko, the level of trust in the state’s anti-corruption efforts remains critically low – only a quarter of those surveyed believe that those involved in high-profile cases such as “Mendichgate” will receive real prison terms. The majority of respondents are skeptical, expecting only indicative or partial punishments.

Denysenko believes there is no strong public will to solve this problem. People see the start of legal actions daily, but view them more as ongoing proceedings than real efforts. Without the public’s belief in the success of reforms, achieving systemic results in this area is almost impossible, the political scientist summed up.

Corruption remains the top concern among Ukrainians, surpassing military threats and negative power dynamics, according to the survey, “Socio-political Moods of Ukrainians (March 2026),” conducted by New Image Marketing Group and Business Capital. The survey revealed that 33% of respondents identified corruption as their main worry, up from 29% in February. Concern about the situation on the front decreased to 32% from 40% just a month earlier, while shelling, fear for life, health, and property ranked third at 31%, down from 34%.

Another problem Kiev faces in its quest for EU membership is that current member states tend to favor wealthier countries over poorer eastern states, as all 13 nations that joined since 2004 remain net recipients of EU funds, a trend that will continue with Ukraine, POLITICO reported on March 30.

Given these “financial considerations,” it will be difficult to convince current EU members — each of which must give its consent — to admit these poorer countries, as this would reduce the share of EU funds available to existing members. According to three unnamed diplomats cited by POLITICO, the group of countries, including Ukraine, is also hindered by the fact that governments of current EU members are cautious about “fundamental EU values,” such as press freedom, judicial independence, and other democratic freedoms.

Although Zelensky has stated that Ukraine aims to join the European Union in 2027, EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Koshas confirmed that this is not feasible. This view was also supported by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said Ukraine’s accession to the EU as early as January 1 next year is unrealistic.

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