Shkarlet's appointment as education minister, 25 June 2020
A look back at the vote that installed a new education minister, and at the questions raised about him.
What did Ukraine's parliament signal when it chose a new education minister? On 26 June 2020, a day after the vote, attention remained on the appointment of Serhiy Shkarlet to lead the education portfolio, made on 25 June 2020.
The choice was contentious. Shkarlet had earlier been caught up in a plagiarism accusation and was known for a fondness for expensive cars, as reported at the time. For a ministry responsible for schools and universities, and for standards of academic integrity, those details shaped how the appointment was received.
The analytical question is what the pick meant for reform credibility. A minister with a plagiarism record overseeing education policy invited scrutiny of whether academic honesty would be treated as a priority. The appointment itself was settled; the open matter was how the new minister would address the concerns that accompanied his arrival.
Elsewhere in Europe, the agenda was dominated by the pandemic. On 24 June 2020, EU ambassadors met to draw up criteria for reopening external borders on 1 July. Under European Commission guidance, non-EU countries with COVID-19 indicators comparable to or better than the EU average would be on a safe list, with reciprocity and links to the EU also weighed. Travellers from countries such as Brazil, Russia and the United States could be barred under those rules.
