The European Commission proposed to prolong the road transport agreements with Moldova and Ukraine. The proposals, sent to the Council, include updates to the agreement with Ukraine to improve its practical implementation.

The original agreements were signed in June 2022 and later extended until the end of June 2024. The transport agreements give bilateral transport rights to Ukrainian, Moldovan and EU hauliers for each other’s territories. 

“With traditional transport routes in the region disrupted or closed due to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the unavailability of the Black Sea as traditional trade route for the two countries, the prolongation until at least the end of 2025 will help secure supply chains,” the European Commission said in a press release. These agreements especially support the EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes, allowing additional lorries to carry vital goods into Ukraine, while helping Ukrainian goods like grain, ores, steel and related products to reach the EU and the rest of the world.

The updates to the agreement with Ukraine in particular make obligatory the carrying of documents showing that a transport operator is duly authorised to perform international carriage and certifying that an unladen operation is directly linked to a transit or bilateral operation. The proposal also strengthens compliance by road haulage operators with obligations relating to operations authorised under the Agreement, fighting fraud or forgery of driver documents and road safety-related traffic offences.

The proposals are now with the Council, which needs to give the Commission a mandate to negotiate with Ukraine and Moldova.