PURPOSE: to conclude, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine on the carriage of freight by road.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: Council may adopt the act only if Parliament has given its consent to the act.
BACKGROUND: the agreement between the European Union and Ukraine on the carriage of freight by road was signed on 29 June 2022, subject to its conclusion at a later date.
In view of the important disruptions in the transport sector in Ukraine caused by the war of aggression undertaken by Russia, it is necessary to find alternative routes by road for Ukraine to export its stocks of grain, fuel, foodstuffs and other relevant goods.
Given that Member States’ European Conference of Ministers of Transport permits and the bilateral agreements between Member States and Ukraine do not allow for the necessary flexibility for Ukrainian road haulage operators to increase and plan ahead their operations through and with the Union, it is crucial to liberalise the transport of freight by road for bilateral operations and transit.
Furthermore, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has compromised the possibility for many Ukrainian drivers to follow the administrative procedures related to driver documents, such as international driving permit applications or the issuance of new driver documents in the event they are lost or stolen.
The agreement should be approved on behalf of the Union.
CONTENT: the draft Council decision is aimed at approving, on behalf of the European Union, the Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine on the carriage of freight by road.
The agreement aims at temporarily facilitating the road transport of goods between and through the territories of the European Union and Ukraine. It also includes measures which aim to facilitate the recognition of driver documents. It provides for specific measures to: (i) exempt drivers from the requirement to present an international driving permit, (ii) recognise decisions taken by Ukraine to extend the administrative validity of driver documents and (iii) facilitate the exchange of information between the competent authorities of the two Parties with the aim of combatting fraud and forgery of driver documents.
The exercise of Union competence pursuant to this Decision and the Agreement will be limited to the period of application of the Agreement. After the end of that period of application, the Union shall immediately cease to exercise that competence and the Member States shall again exercise their competence.
The exercise of Union competence pursuant to this Decision will be without prejudice to the competence of the Member States concerning any ongoing or future negotiations for, or signature or conclusion of, international agreements related to the carriage of goods by road with any other third country.