Essential Ukraine Government Sites for DCFTA Issues
The Department of Technical Regulation (DTR) is a subdivision of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine. DTR is responsible for the coordination of Ukraine with International and European standardization organizations including ISO, IEC, CEN and CENELEC. A comprehensive overview of DTR functions can be found on ISO’s Site. The following Ukraine Government sites are essential resources (defined as of April 20, 2015 – more to follow as identified).
Core DCFTA Documents
The DCFTA itself (all 2135 pages) and most other relevant documents can be found on the European External Action Service site. The five page “Guide to the Association Agreement” and 10 page “Reading Guide” will be useful to those new to DCFTA or who only have 1-2 cups of coffee.
It is appropriate to note that above and beyond the DCFTA, businesses will need to become familiarized with the applicable EU laws, regulations and licensing requirements applicable to their business. These will be cataloged separately along with other Ukraine DCFTA resources.
EU-Ukraine Association Agreement Documents in Ukrainian can be found on the Reforms in Ukraine web site, this includes the Ukraine Association Agreement and the European Union and its agenda, among a wealth of other materials including details on the Horizon 2020 Program.
Licensing, Certifications and Standards
CEN, the European Committee for Standardization - is one of the three organizations officially recognized by the European Union and European Free Trade Association as relevant to Ukrainian businesses not concerned with telecommunications (See ETSI) or electrotechnical engineering (See CENELEC).
ISO, International Organization for Standardization – An important site for Ukrainian businesses to meet the requirements of doing business in the European Union. European standards typically meet or exceed ISO standards. Achieving ISO standards makes it more of an administrative task than a technical one to meet European standards.
ETSI, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute for defining EU Standards in the areas “fixed, mobile, radio, converged broadcast and internet technologies.”
CENELEC is the European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization is the third organization involved in defining EU standards in the electrotechnical engineering field.
EUATC, the European Union Association of Translation Companies, was responsible for establishing EN 15038, the first European standard for translation services. Note, presently Ukraine does not have a representative on the EUATC. Ukrainian Translation Service Providers would do well to pick up a copy of The Translation Service Provider’s Guide to BS EN 15038 by Chris Cox. This book provides “a step-by-step guide for TSPs to achieve conformity to the standard.”
Additional Ukraine DCFTA Resources & Materials
Selection and Use of the ISO 9000 family of standards - Produced by ISO itself, provides an introduction to the broader ISO picture, where to start and an outline of the overall process of implementing each set of standards.
A Five Step Guide to ISO 9001 Certificiation – No need to reinvent the wheel, this is a good resource for showing you the way forward on ISO 9001. Each step is very involved, just break it down into even smaller steps and don’t be intimidated by the bigger picture.
Free ISO 9001 Starter Kit – Similar to the above, but almost “plug n play” for getting an ISO implementation team on its feet. This includes a Step by Step Guide which identifies common problems in implementation, a project manager’s guide, and 3 PowerPoint Presentations including an overview of benefits, an introduction for team members, and document control.
The Vienna Agreement is an arrangement between ISO and CEN which designates ISO as the lead agency for defining standards. However, ISO does not cover everything as relates to the EU. Where ISO leaves off, CEN picks up.
- Agreement on Technical Co-operation between ISO and CEN – PDF on ISO site.
- Vienna Agreement 2014 Guidelines – PDF on CEN site
Selling to the EU under the DCFTA by Mark Hellyer and Valeriy Pyatnitsky – Explaining the Benefits of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) between Ukraine and the EU, produced by CTA Economic & Export Analysts, LTD., in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
DCFTA Ratification
(Per March 31, 2015 - update coming soon)
The EU-Ukraine DCFTA has been ratified by the following countries:
Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine
The European Union itself and the following additional countries have approved of the DCFTA in at least “one chamber” of their governments, pending passage by other chambers:
Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland and Spain.
Of these it appears that Hungary, Ireland and Poland have approved of the DCFTA, but have not yet deposited the documents with the EU.
This leaves numerous countries yet to formally begin ratification of the DCFTA, they include:
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia and the United Kingdom.
Provisional implementation is scheduled for December 31, 2015.
A quick word of thanks to midlake.com for providing us with the following ISO & Six Sigma Infographic.