Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine Olga Stefanishina says that the agreement on "industrial visa-free travel" with the European Union will not be signed in 2022, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

"No. I suggest returning to this issue closer to the summer of 2022, then I will be able to name specific dates," Stefanishina said when asked if Ukraine will sign an agreement on "industrial visa-free travel" at the next Ukraine-EU summit in 2022.

She said missions assessing Ukraine's readiness for the agreement will be completed this summer, and after they are completed, the government will be able to initiate formal negotiations.

"But before this assessment is completed and recommendations are made, we will not be able to initiate the process of formal negotiations. The CRI I would set for 2022 is the start of formal negotiations. They can be very fast, if we manage to build a political consensus in the European Commission on this agreement," said the deputy prime minister.

Stefanyshyna said no, answering the question whether she was ready to sign the agreement in 2022.

Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products is a recognition of the equivalence of the system of technical regulation and conformity assessment to the European one. Signing ACAA, or the so-called "industrial visa-free", would allow producers of industrial products to obtain the required certificates in Ukraine instead of going to an official representative - a resident of the European Union, which has the right to obtain such a document. The possibility of signing such an agreement is stipulated by the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU.

Initially, the "industrial visa-free" agreement will be concluded for three sectors of industrial products: low-voltage electrical equipment, electromagnetic compatibility of equipment, and machinery. After successful recognition from the EU of the first of these sectors, this practice may be extended to other types of industry.

In October, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine expects to sign an "industrial visa-free" agreement at the next Ukraine-EU summit in 2022.