European Parliament approves agreement with Ukraine to ease cross-border transport of goods

MOSCOW. Nov 11 (Interfax) - Members of the European Parliament have ratified the agreement between the European Union and Ukraine on the carriage of freight by road.

Once approved by the European Parliament, the document will now have to ratified by the European Council, Ukrainian media outlets said, citing a press release published by Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry on social media.

The agreement started to be applied even prior to the conclusion of all ratification procedures after it was signed in Lyon in June 2022. The document allows Ukrainian road haul operators to transit through and operate on EU territory without the need for related permits.

The EU-Ukraine agreement also will allow Ukrainian drivers to continue using their existing Ukrainian driving licenses and certificates of professional competence to drive in the EU, without having to hold an international driving permit.

The document is valid for one year, and Ukraine and the EU are already working to extend it by another year. Technical consultations are continuing.

The agreement has already helped boost EU-Ukraine trade: the actual amount of freight exports increased by 54% in July-September 2022 as compared to the period between April and June of this year, and imports grew by 67%. Freight exports grew by 3.3% and imports by 38% in monetary terms.

Since the EU-Ukraine agreement on the carriage of freight by road started to be applied, the number of road haulers crossing Ukraine's state border in direction of EU countries has also increased. Their number rose by 21% in July-August 2022 as compared to May-June of this year, and by 44% from the same period in 2021. Furthermore, road haulers have begun crossing the border 32% more often, the ministry said.