The agreement on “industrial visa-free regime” with the EU won’t be concluded in 2022 – Stefanishyna

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine Olha Stefanishyna states that the agreement on an "industrial visa-free regime" with the European Union will not be concluded in 2022.

She said this in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"No. I propose to return to this issue closer to the summer of 2022 when I can name specific dates," Stefanishyna said when asked whether Ukraine will conclude an agreement on an "industrial visa-free regime" at the next EU-Ukraine summit in 2022.

According to her, the work of missions assessing Ukraine's readiness to conclude the agreement will be completed this summer, and after their completion, the government will be able to initiate formal talks.

"But before this assessment is completed and recommendations are made, we will not be able to initiate a formal negotiation process. The CRI, which I would set for 2022, is the beginning of formal negotiations. They can be very quick if we can build a political consensus in the European Commission of this agreement," said the Deputy Prime Minister.

When asked whether it allowed the possibility of concluding an agreement in 2022, Stefanishina said no.

The ACAA agreement recognizes the equivalence of technical regulation and conformity assessment system with the European one. The conclusion of the ACAA, or so-called industrial visa-free regime, would allow industrial producers to obtain the necessary certificates in Ukraine instead of contacting an official representative, a resident of the European Union, who has the right to obtain such a document. The possibility of concluding such an agreement is provided in the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

Initially, the "industrial visa-free regime" will be concluded for three sectors of industrial products: low-voltage electrical equipment, electromagnetic compatibility of equipment, machinery. Following the successful recognition of the first of these sectors by the EU, this practice can be extended to other industries.

As reported, in October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine expected to conclude an agreement on an "industrial visa-free regime" at the next Ukraine-EU summit in 2022.