Ukraine – EU industrial visa waiver assessment reaches milestone

The Economic Development and Trade Ministry of Ukraine
announced that the EU assessment mission had completed its work and released its
preliminary report on Ukraine’s “industrial visa waiver” program with the
European Union. The ministry posted on its website on May 17 that the mission
recognized the completed transposition of 67 EU regulations out of the 80
regulations assessed. Of the 13 remaining, draft regulations and legislation
are already in process for six of them.

Other issues for alignment, such as CE marking, as
well as RAPEX and ICSMS participation, were also identified. These and other changes
will make it possible for Ukraine to sign the ACAA Agreement (Agreement on
Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Goods).

James Hydzik: Harmonizing
Ukraine’s trade legislation with the EU’s is a vital step in the country’s
Euro-integration. Despite the headline-grabbing events with Russian aggression
and the domestic and international aspects of reform and governance, the
practical work of Ukraine’s government in meeting these broad yet in-depth
regulatory agreements is still on-going. It is a vital part of Ukraine’s
fundamental shift of economic focus.

Correction: An earlier version of this article (released on May 18) misstated
Ukraine’s participation in RAPEX and ICSMS as well as its CE marking
conformance. Also, the EU assessment mission released the report.