3 Feb 2023 14:08

Ukraine to request EU assessment in 2023 to receive internal market regime in electronic communications

MOSCOW. Feb 3 (Interfax) - Ukraine in 2023 will request the European Union's assessment of the fulfillment of obligations under the "digital" Appendix XVII-3 (Rules Applicable to Telecommunication Services) of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement in order to secure the soonest possible transition to internal market rules in electronic communications with the EU, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Transformation Minister Mikhail Fyodorov said.

"Our ambitious goal this year is to apply for an assessment of Ukraine's fulfilment of obligations under the 'digital' annex to the Association Agreement. Afterwards, we hope to receive the internal market regime in the sector of electronic communications," Ukrainian media quoted Fyodorov as saying at a joint meeting of the Ukrainian government and the European Commission in Kiev on Thursday.

Ukraine stands ready to finalize its internal procedure for updating the Annex XVII-3 as soon as possible and hopes to see the same promptness on the part of the EU, he said.

Ukraine is also working on the implementation of the European Electronic Communications Code, moving forward in this process "in parallel with or even faster than certain countries of the European Union," he said.

Furthermore, joint work is ongoing to deploy an eIDAS node in Ukraine, which is ready to launch reforms with the aim of implementing the EU's Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), the minister said.

"It is important for us to track all strong and weak sides in comparison with EU countries. To this end, we are launching a reform as part of the implementation of the DESI ecosystem. We will be grateful to the European Union for assistance and support in this process," Fyodorov said.

At the same time, freeing up frequency, as envisaged in the norms of the European Electronic Communications Code, remains a sensitive issue to Ukraine, he said.

"It is currently impossible to free up the frequencies that are used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he said.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is eager to launch 5G technologies in order to give a fresh impetus to its own digital development and to facilitate its connection to Europe's transport 5G corridors, Fyodorov said.