Ukraine, EU to sign transport liberalization agreement - deputy minister

MOSCOW. June 29 (Interfax) - Ukraine and the European Union will sign a special transport liberalization agreement in Lyon, France, on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the Connecting Europe Days 2022, a meeting of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport, Ukrainian Deputy Infrastructure Minister Mustafa Nayyem said.

"On June 29, Ukraine will get the final 'visa-free transport' deal with European Union countries," Ukrainian media outlets quoted Nayyem as saying on social media.

He said the upcoming event was of huge significance for Ukrainian transport companies.

"Given the nearly five-fold increase in truck transportation, the exports of Ukrainian goods to at least two neighboring countries could have stopped as early as in September of this year due to the shortage of transport permits. This means hundreds of millions of dollars of losses every month and over one billion losses over the year," Nayyem said.

The agreement will allow European consumers to cut the deficit and growing prices on Ukrainian commodities, while things will be easier for numerous European companies whose offices and industrial facilities are continuing to operate in Ukraine, he said.

The transport liberalization agreement will be signed by Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov and European Transport Commissioner Adina Valean, Nayyem said.