On July 29, in Lyon, France, Ukraine and the European Union signed an agreement on road freight transport.

It eliminates the need for Ukrainian carriers to obtain appropriate permits for bilateral and transit traffic to EU countries and allows avoiding cessation of the export of Ukrainian products through motor vehicle checkpoints.

"Today we have taken another step towards de facto membership in the European Union. I am grateful to my European partners for their readiness to make such important decisions quickly. For us, such cooperation is extremely necessary in the context of the reorientation of logistics to the western borders.

We managed to agree on concluding this Agreement in shortest terms possible - negotiations started last autumn. Realizing the difficult logistical situation in Ukraine due to the blockade of seaports and damage to transport infrastructure, European colleagues simultaneously moved towards us and significantly accelerated the process of negotiating the agreement.

We will continue to work on the fastest possible transport integration in the EU. The food crisis that is unfolding now is a clear proof that such integration is in the interests not only of Ukraine, but also of the whole world community," said Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov.

The Agreement also provides for measures to facilitate the recognition of driver's licenses. From now on, Ukraine and the EU exempt holders of driver's licenses issued by one of the parties from the requirement to have an international driver's license.

The term of the Agreement is 1 year with the possibility of extension, and temporarily takes effect from today. The deal will be valid on a permanent basis after the completion of all ratification procedures.

In the context of a full-scale war and the blockade of Ukrainian ports, the volume of exports by road and, as a consequence, the need for permits for international transportation in some areas has increased several times.

In the first month of the full-scale invasion, the Ministry of Infrastructure team managed to reach agreements on the temporary abolition of trucking permits with 12 EU countries (Austria, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Germany, Denmark, Lithuania, Romania, Greece and Slovakia).

It should be mentioned that since the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between Ukraine and the EU in 2016, trade with the European Union has almost doubled, while the volumes of road haulage has grown by 42%.

Meanwhile, the number of permits for international transportation to individual EU countries did not increase, but even reduced. Every year, this led to large losses for both Ukrainian carriers and the country's economy as a whole.

Reference source: Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine