The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and the European Union addressed the national strategy for the reform of the technical regulation system of Ukraine at a conference organised on July 23, 2014 in Kyiv. The conference discussed the recently adopted legislation on metrology and standardisation, as well as other measures in place and planned actions to align Ukrainian standards with those functioning in the EU.
As part of the implementation of the Association Agreement the Government of Ukraine is reforming the system of technical regulation. Modern standards and improved technical regulations will allow national producers to compete on the EU market more successfully, while providing Ukrainian consumers with safer products.
Mr Pavlo Sheremeta, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, emphasised that “at the moment there are three most important things to accelerate Ukraine's move on the Eurointegration path: first of all, a need to ensure a free access to the world markets for Ukrainian products; secondly, professional work on harmonising national standards and regulations in compliance with the world (and above all – European) ones; finally, decisive fight against corruption, which slows down the pace of work and discredits the country”.
During the conference participants had a chance to get an insight into the main features of the reforms, the changes that are implied and into the advantages that are expected for the economic entities.
The development of a strategy for the Ukrainian system of technical regulation and its alignment to the EU standards was the particular focus of the discussions. “Owing to the reform of the technical regulation system technical barriers to trade between Ukraine and the European Union are removed little by little. The recently adopted laws give industry and suppliers an opportunity to work in a more facilitating business environment, with clear and transparent rules, favouring innovation and supporting the easier access to EU market for Ukrainian goods”, - said Mr Andrew Rasbash, Head of Cooperation at EU Delegation to Ukraine.
Background information
On 5 June 2014 the Parliament of Ukraine adopted two new important legal acts - “Law on Metrology and Metrological Activity” and “Law on Standardisation”. The former aims at creating an effective and transparent metrology system, while reducing corruption-inducing conflict of interests. The new “Law on Standardization” ensures the alignment of national standards of Ukraine with European standards and stipulates creating a National Standards Body, which is a single executor, where all stakeholders are to be represented. Further stages of the reform in the technical regulation system of Ukraine will include the alignment of the technical regulations for specific products areas.
The EU supports the reform of the Ukrainian system of technical regulation, through several co-operation programmes and projects, including the Sector Policy Support Programme with a total value of EUR 45 million. The Programme comprises direct budget support and technical assistance. It started in 2009 and will be continued until December 2014, with a possible one year extension. The conference was supported by the EU-funded project devoted to the removal of technical barriers to trade.