The e-Governance Academy has honoured the Ministry of Digital Transformation for its collaboration in the development of the Ukrainian digital signature, in particular Diia.Signature-EU, which meets EU standards. The Partner of the Year 2023 award was presented during the e-Governance Conference in Estonia.

“Diia.Signature is one of the most revolutionary services we have created. It is a fundamental service for digital countries that allows to receive services online. Recently, Diia.Signature-EU has become compatible with the European Commission’s electronic signature platform, and Ukraine became the first non-EU country to be included in the European Union’s Trust List. This opens up new opportunities for every Ukrainian and for Ukraine as a whole. I am grateful for the recognition of Ukrainian digital signature and support of our European integration,” said Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister for Innovation, Education, Science and Technology Development, Minister of Digital Transformation.

Ukraine became the first non-EU country to have its e-signature recognised by the European Union. This is one of the key steps towards integration into the EU’s digital single market.

“Ukraine became the first one to have its trust services, that is e-signatures and seals, fully meet EU standards and be recognized by the European Union. This is a breakthrough that no country outside the EU has ever achieved before. Slava Ukraini!” said Hannes Astok, Executive Director of the e-Governance Academy.

Work on the recognition of the Ukrainian e-signature by EU countries began in 2017. The collaboration involved the Ministry of Digital Transformation, local state-owned enterprises, the European Commission and experts from the e-Governance Academy as part of the EU4DigitalUA project supported by the European Union.

The collaboration has resulted in amendments to legislation, negotiations with the European Commission and the implementation of technical solutions. In total, more than 70 laws have been amended, and Ukrainian electronic trust services are now recognised in the EU. This opens up new opportunities for Ukrainians and businesses. In particular, they can sign electronic applications, contracts and cooperation agreements.

Each year, the e-Governance Academy recognises the most active partners in promoting digital governance, which helps to build a more efficient and transparent government.

Background

The e-Governance Academy (eGA) is a joint initiative of the Government of Estonia, the Open Society Institute and the United Nations Development Programme. It has been working in Ukraine since 2012, starting with local governments, and has been supporting the Government of Ukraine since 2014. eGA has implemented 12 e-governance projects in Ukraine, with EU4DigitalUA and DT4UA as its flagship projects. The EU4DigitalUA programme aims to develop digital governance infrastructure, public e-services, cybersecurity and data protection.