Protection of restricted access information of NATO and the EU in Ukraine during the1990s and the first quarter of the 21st century

Abstract

The article examines the evolution of the protection of restricted information by NATO and the EU in Ukraine from the 1990s of the 20th century to the first quarter of the 21st century. A number of regulatory legal acts concluded between NATO, the EU, and Ukraine in the field of protection of restricted information are analyzed.

It is found that in the 1990s of the 20th century, Ukraine actively joined Euro-Atlantic processes. Partnership with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union required Ukraine to align sensitive information – restricted information – with their standards. Agreements on the security of information, as well as agreements on the security of classified information, were concluded between Ukraine and these organizations. These documents developed a mechanism for mutual protection of restricted information. The Euro-Atlantic classified information protection system also includes other supporting documents – directives and policies that regulate this area.

The system of state authorities of Ukraine, as well as NATO and the EU responsible for ensuring the protection of classified information, has been determined. It has been found that in Ukraine such bodies are: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine. It is these bodies that exercise control over the transmission, dissemination, storage, and protection of NATO and EU classified information in Ukraine. From NATO, such bodies are the NATO Security Office; from the EU, the Security Directorate of the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU and the Department of Security of the European Commission.

The novelty of the study also lies in the fact that it presents an analysis of specific problems of protecting NATO and EU classified information in Ukraine. The mechanisms and procedures used by Ukraine to protect this sensitive information in the country have also been considered.

It is emphasized that Ukraine, from the 1990s of the 20th century to the first quarter of the 21st century, did a lot to bring its legislation into line with NATO and EU standards, as it has been cooperating with these organizations for many years. In addition, the country has made significant progress in adapting its own restricted information security sector to NATO and EU requirements and standards.

The research methodology is based on historical and legal analysis and a comparative approach. The study also uses a comparative and historical method to study the interaction between NATO and the EU in the field of protection of restricted information in the 1990s – the first quarter of the 21st century, and a comparative and legal method to analyze the dynamics of the implementation of legislation regulating the mechanism of circulation of restricted information by NATO and the EU in Ukraine. The study also uses theoretical methods (analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction).