On the draft Council decision on the conclusion, on behalf of the Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine amending the… Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine on the carriage of freight by road of 29 June 2022

The road transport agreement between the Union and Ukraine was signed on 29 June 2022 after the war between Ukraine and Russia started. It aimed to temporarily facilitate road freight transport and increase trade by road between territories of the Union and Ukraine in the absence of other gateways for Ukrainian products due to blockages of the ports and closed air space. On 20 June 2024 the Member States decided to prolong the agreement until 30 June 2025, with tacit renewal for another period of six months, so until the end of 2025.

While the extending of the agreement would be a right step due to the requirement of EU law, the rapporteur believes it cannot be done in its current form and further work is needed to fine-tune the details and better regulate its application. There is greater need to ensure more effective border and roadside controls by increasing the number of police on the main transport routes used by the Ukrainian lorries. Failing that, the new provisions, although in principle welcome, are not going to be effective or, indeed, will be useless. Roadside inspections and border checks should include all type of goods, both imported and exported, as well as drivers’ driving times and suitability to drive their lorries in the territory of the Union. Technical state of the vehicles crossing the borders should also be checked. In addition, there should be digital control of all entry documents, checking the legality of goods and driving time authorisation and duration through digital monitoring.

Furthermore, the agreement should be subject to limitation of export quantities of Ukrainian goods that directly compete with goods from the Member States. This should apply in particular to the agricultural goods such as wheat. Not so recent, renewed protests by Polish farmers, for example, highlighted clearly that oversupply of cheaper Ukrainian wheat, which had not been imported in comparable quantities before the war, resulted in the loss of their income. Such situations should be prevented. The rapporteur and his ESN group also supports a clear restriction of freight transport to civilian goods. Appropriate regulation should be found for dual-use products. A reviewed agreement, adhering to the above-mentioned conditions, would still greatly benefit Ukraine while providing for much fairer conditions and a level-playing field for the European hauliers and producers.