Ukraine intends to join EU Digital Single Market
European Union Assessment Mission has started its work in Ukraine. Its goal is to test the readiness of the telecommunications sector of Ukraine for integration into the EU Digital Single Market (DSM), reports the press service of Ukrainian President.
On August 17, Zelensky's adviser Mikhail Fedorov had a meeting with an Assessment Mission in the President's Office. The representatives of the General Directorate of the European Commission DG Connect also participated in the meeting.
"The President's team clearly understands that further acceleration of economic and social development is possible only under the condition of digital transformation. We want and are ready to quickly fulfill all the conditions to become part of the EU initiative to create a Digital Single Market. For Ukraine, these are super-powerful digital and economic prospects," said Fedorov at the meeting. He has also said that the draft law "On electronic communications" will be one of the priorities for the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Representatives of the EU mission focused on the need to ensure the independence and efficiency of the regulator in the field of telecommunications.
DSM is a designated economic zone of the European Union with a focus on telecommunications and the digital economy. According to European experts, its creation can bring the EU an additional 415 billion euros annually and ensure the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs. The strategy is based on the European values of fair and open competition, an open and secure Internet that provides a free flow of information.
In 2017, former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called Ukraine's entry into the Digital Single Market one of the immediate goals of its European integration.
In 2018, the European Union adopted a plan of sectoral integration of Ukraine, which does not guarantee formal membership in the EU but allows the country to benefit from the advantages. The plan provides for Ukraine's accession to the Energy Union, the Digital Single Market, the EU Customs Union, as well as becoming part of the Schengen area.