Ukraine amends electronic trust services regulation

On 1 December 2022, the Parliament of Ukraine adopted the Law of Ukraine “On Amending Certain Legislative Acts on Ensuring the Conclusion of an Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union on Mutual Recognition of Qualified Electronic Trust Services and Implementation of the European Union Legislation in the Field of Electronic Identification” (the “Law”). This Law is currently awaiting the signature of the Ukrainian President and once duly signed, it is expected to become fully effective within one year from its official publication.

The Law amends around 80 Ukrainian acts in order to ensure that Ukrainian legislation is compliant with those laws of the European Union concerning the integration of Ukraine into the Digital Single Market of the European Union, and specifically those laws regulating electronic identification and electronic-trust services.

The amended laws include the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Trust Services”, which is to be renamed the Law of Ukraine “On Electronic Identification and Electronic Trust Services”, several codes (including procedural codes) and laws regulating relations in different spheres, such as IP rights protection, veterinary medicine and others.

The stated integration is to be achieved through the recognition in Ukraine of providers of electronic-trust services from the EU and ensuring an equally high level of secured electronic identification. Among other things, the Law also provides for the possibility of obtaining a qualified electronic signature remotely and access to online services in Ukraine from abroad.

The next step towards integration of Ukraine into the Digital Single Market of the European Union will be conclusion of an agreement on mutual recognition of electronic-trust services between Ukraine and the EU.