The third country outside the EU, Ukraine, joins the European Blockchain Partnership

After Norway and Liechtenstein, Ukraine became the third non-EU country to join the European Blockchain Partnership (EBP), an initiative led by 27 member states to provide public services across national borders.

The Ministry of Digital Transformation in Ukraine announced the country’s move to join the EBP as an observer on Friday. With the ultimate goal of integrating its digital economic space with the EU, Ukraine plans to expand its interstate blockchain network partnership with other countries.

Ukraine’s intention to join the EBP dates back to July 2021, when Oleksii Zhmerenetskyi, chair of the Blockchain4Ukraine parliamentary group, and Konstantin Yarmolenko, founder and CEO of Virtual Assets of Ukraine, wrote a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU. Commission. The letter stated Ukraine’s interest in joining EBP and the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI). Von der Leyen later confirmed the prospects for Ukraine’s accession to the EBP as an observer.

In a conversation with Cointelegraph, Yarmolenko expressed Ukraine’s interest in running a test node for EBSI and pilot use cases of cross-border public services based on blockchain technology. He emphasized that the “Russia-Ukraine war” was a significant step forward, and said: “

“The next step is full blockchain integration of Ukraine and the EU based on EBP / EBSI initiatives.”

After working with EBP on blockchain pilot use as an observer, Ukraine aims to gain full membership. Yarmolenko further revealed that Ukraine is targeting additional blockchain partnerships to provide Ukrainian citizens with cross-border public services, including verification of educational credentials / diplomas and identity information and registration and support for refugees / asylum.

While sharing details about the partnership, Yarmolenko stated that the move to join the EBP is a way to strengthen ties with the EU, adding that “I would even call it blockchain integration with the EU.”

In addition, Zhmerenetskyi pointed out one of the benefits of the EU-wide blockchain partnership is that Ukraine’s accession to the EBP would reduce the recognition of Ukrainian documents for higher education and driver’s licenses for Ukrainian refugees in Europe.

Related: EU Commissioner reiterates need to “regulate all cryptocurrencies”

Mairead McGuinness, European Commissioner for Financial Services, Financial Stability and Capital Markets Union, recently highlighted the need to “regulate all cryptocurrencies – whether they are unsupported cryptocurrencies or so-called stablecoins.”

The EU Commissioner also revealed plans to discuss a proposal with the French government via Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA):

“MiCA rules will be the right tool to address the concerns of consumer protection, market integrity and financial stability. This is something that is so urgent given the latest developments.”