The Council of the European Union has approved a mandate for negotiations with Ukraine on the extension of the agreement on the liberalization of freight transportation, which will allow Ukraine to continue freight transportation without permits until at least June 2025, the Ministry of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine reported, UNN reports.
Details
"The Ministry of Reconstruction of Ukraine and the European Commission will be able to officially start negotiations on the extension of the agreement on the liberalization of freight transportation between Ukraine and the EU. The relevant mandate for the negotiations was approved by the EU Council at its meeting on April 29," the ministry said on social media.
At present, the European Commission is reportedly proposing to extend the agreement, i.e., the "transport visa-free regime," for at least 12 months with the possibility of extending it for another six months. "It is about the possibility of performing permit-free bilateral transportation at least until June 2025 inclusive," the agency said.
We welcome the EU's decision to start formal negotiations on the extension of the agreement. It is important for us to maintain the ability to carry out cargo transportation without permits, as this directly affects the ability to export Ukrainian goods, which means supporting our economy, and importing the necessary goods for our country. For our part, we have been working with the European Commission for the past six months and continue to work with it to ensure that the decision to extend the agreement is made on time - by the end of June. It is important that all changes to the extended agreement are clear, transparent, and do not restrict Ukrainian carriers' right to freely transport goods to and from Ukraine
The official text for discussion, as indicated, will be sent to Ukraine in the near future.
"Транспортний безвіз" з Україною: у ЄС пропонують посилити вимоги до Києва 05.03.24, 16:10