5 Visa-Free with the European Union. Current situation and benefits for Ukraine.
In total, Ukraine should join 5 agreements that ensure the free movement of goods and services within the EU. They are related to energy, customs, transport, digital market and trade conditions.
Energy visa-freeUkraine joined the energy visa-free program just a few days after the start of the full-scale war. It was on the night of February 23 that Ukrainian and Moldovan power grids were planned to be disconnected from russian and Belarusian ones. During the study, it was planned to carry out metrological works necessary for the future connection of the networks of Ukraine and Moldova to the united European network. Thanks to the efforts of European partners, all issues related to the connection of the Ukrainian electricity grid to the European one were resolved in just 2 weeks. Therefore, since March, the Ukrainian energy system has been working synchronously with the ENTSO-E power grid of continental Europe.
Ukraine and the EU have also resumed interstate electricity trade.On June 30, the export of electricity from Ukraine to Romania began. Electricity trading on other connections (Ukraine-Slovakia, Ukraine-Hungary and Moldova-Romania) is expected to start later.
Customs visa-freeRecently, a decision was made to invite Ukraine to the Convention on the Common Transit Procedure (NCTS) and the Convention on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods.
It is expected that Ukraine will be able to start the international application of NCTS already at the end of 2022. This should be preceded by the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of draft laws on accession to the two conventions.
Currently, Ukraine is working on the harmonization of the Customs Code of Ukraine, the implementation of European rules and services at customs, speeding up the possibility of goods passing through the border for business. Ukraine is completing NCTS testing for compliance with the provisions of the Convention on the Common Transit Procedure. Joining the international system will, among other things, allow exchanging customs data in real time and control goods at each stage of transportation. This is an important step in the direction of detinization and combating abuses at customs. Customs visa-free is also an impetus for the development of logistics, commercial and trade hubs in Ukraine.
The Convention on the common transit procedure is the basis for the movement of goods between 35 countries: EU member states, countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Turkey, North Macedonia and Serbia. The technology behind the Convention is the New Computerized Transit System (NCTS). Transport visa-freeUkraine and the European Union signed a special agreement on transport liberalization on June 29. The agreement will help solve the problem of the lack of permits for international transportation, improve logistics, price and speed of transportation for Ukrainian entrepreneurs. From now on, Ukrainian driver's licenses will also be recognized in the EU. This is important for those Ukrainians who have old-style driver's licenses.
We wrote more about the features of this visa-free regime before: https://bit.ly/3yFLSCA Industrial visa-freeUkraine is working to sign the "industrial visa-free" (ASAA agreement). It means recognition of the equivalence of the Ukrainian system of technical regulation and conformity assessment to the European one. Its signing will facilitate the access of Ukrainian products to foreign markets. And manufacturers of industrial products will be able to obtain the necessary certificates in Ukraine, instead of looking for an official representative in the European Union.
Currently, the results of the adaptation of the legislation are being monitored. Volodymyr Zelensky recently called on the government to speed up the work on signing this visa-free visa, so we expect the next steps.
More about this visa-free regime - in our post: https://bit.ly/3IJLR5e Digital visa-free or joining the EU digital marketThe Cabinet of Ministers approved the delegation for negotiations between Ukraine and the EU regarding Ukraine's participation in the "Digital Europe" program. This is a large-scale project worth 7.5 billion euros. It funds research and programs in artificial intelligence, cyber security and digital skills.
Full integration and use of digital market tools with the EU will attract additional several billion dollars for our economy. Barriers in electronic trade between Ukraine and the EU will also disappear, and the possibility of using electronic digital signatures in foreign economic activities will arise.We wrote about energy and customs visa-free regimes before: https://www.facebook.com/724963547567409/posts/5466831800047203/
Signing visa-free regimes is extremely important for the economy and further reconstruction of our country. They give a clear signal of rapid accession of Ukraine to the EU.