By Brian Dooley and Suchita Uppal What happened and why does it matter? On July 22, Ukraine’s parliament passed Draft Law No. 12414, handing over major control over the country’s anti-corruption institutions — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO)- to the Prosecutor General’s Office.

President Volodymyr Zelensky's sudden move to strip the country's anti-corruption infrastructure of its independence stunned the European Union. Even as the Ukrainian authorities now attempt to reverse the controversial move that faced a harsh backlash from the EU and the wider public,

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on Sunday for President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to uphold independent anti-corruption bodies, with the Ukrainian leader signaling that supporting legislation could be adopted within days.