The agreement on the liberalization of freight transport between Ukraine and the European Union, known as the “transport visa-free regime”, has been automatically extended until the end of 2025. The decision was made taking into account the effectiveness of the agreement, its positive economic impact for both parties, as well as proper monitoring of the implementation of agreements. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.
“Road transportation between Ukraine and the EU today is of crucial importance for the economic stability of our country, because it is by road that we export goods with added value and import necessary goods. The most important thing is that the agreement has a positive effect on both parties. Thanks to the “transport visa-free” export by road to the European Union has increased by 42%, and import by road to Ukraine by 37%.
I thank our European partners for their productive work and thank the domestic carriers for supporting the economic stability of the state.” – stressed the Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine – the Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksiy Kuleba.
We will remind that the agreement on “transport visa-free” was signed for the first time in June 2022. It is usually valid for one year. In June 2024, the document was extended for the third time – until June 2025. According to the updated terms, an automatic extension until the end of 2025 was foreseen, provided that there was no negative impact on the parties to the agreement and no violations.
After the June extension last year, the team of the Ministry of Development, under the coordination of the relevant deputy minister Serhii Derkach, worked to ensure the conditions for automatic extension. In particular, it was about participation in a joint working group to assess the effectiveness of the agreement, preparation of the necessary analytical base, and cooperation with Ukrainian carriers regarding compliance with the requirements of “transport visa-free”.
The introduction of the liberalization of freight transportation was aimed at supporting the Ukrainian economy in response to aggression from Russia. The agreement facilitates access to world markets, ensures stable transit through the territories of the EU countries and contributes to the strengthening of trade relations between Ukraine and the European Union.
