Latvia is the first country to legally recognise Ukrainian e-signatures and support digital integration of the solution with Latvian authorities.
Latvian e-signatures will hold the same weight as written signatures. A meeting was held between members of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, VARAM management and LVRTC to discuss future potential opportunities to collaborate in the field of digital transformation. Supporting the e-signature – which is being explored as a use case for the EU Digital ID Wallet – will allow “convenient communication” for documents to be signed and shared across borders, especially benefiting Ukrainian citizens living in Latvia, as well as Latvian and Ukrainian businesses.
Gatis Ozols, Deputy State Secretary for Digital Transformation at VARAM, said, “We appreciate Ukraine’s achievements in digitisation and the implementation of solutions that comply with EU standards — this is a significant step towards Ukraine’s digital integration into Europe, and we are grateful to our Ukrainian colleagues for their close cooperation, as well as to our colleagues at LVRTC for the rapid implementation of the e-signature solution”.
The Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine commented that the recognition of their electronic signatures in Latvia represented a “case of the highest level of trust”. It demonstrates the close relationship between both countries which reduces barriers around digital accessibility and a lack of inclusion. Ukraine’s digitisation has rapidly affirmed a place for the e-signature solution and helped to envelope Ukraine into the European digital market to create more work and growth opportunities for ordinary Ukrainians.
Currently, the number of Ukrainian citizens living in Latvia is more than 31,000. Qualified e-signatures issued by the European Union, including Latvia, are equivalent to counterparts created in Ukraine.
Ukrainian e-signatures can now also be verified using the verification tool available on the European Commission’s website: https://ec.europa.eu/digital-building-blocks/DSS/webapp-demo/validation
