07 November
2024
One of the key requirements of European officials in the transport sector is Ukraine's adoption of the law on railway transport.
Last week, the European Commission presented the Expansion Package until 2024. In fact, it is a detailed report on the progress of each country that has the status of a candidate or potential candidate for EU membership. "We offer a detailed assessment of the state of affairs in countries seeking to become members of the European Union. The assessment is based on the individual efforts and merits of the countries, taking into account the rule of law at their core," said the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. commenting on this document.
Certain provisions of the report refer to the transport and infrastructure sectors. TTS sets out the main provisions that reflect our achievements in this field.
First of all, the report notes that the European Union has common rules on technical and safety standards, social standards, state aid levels and market liberalization in road transport, railways, inland waterways, multimodal transport, aviation and maritime transport. "In the transport sector, Ukraine continues its commitment to the implementation of priority EU transport rules. In accordance with its commitments and in order to give impetus to reforms in this sector, Ukraine should adopt and start implementing the revised National Transport Strategy until 2030, as well as adopt and to start implementing the Strategy for the Development and Expansion of Border Infrastructure with EU Member States and the Republic of Moldova by 2030," the report emphasizes.
European experts did not highly appreciate our achievements in the transport sector, noting, for example, that in the context of road transport, significant regulatory reforms and legislative acts are "still ahead". In particular, the law harmonizing road transport services with EU standards is mentioned, which has not yet been adopted. "The transposition of social and market rules of road transport is key so that Ukrainian carriers can compete on an equal footing with the EU and ensure the proper functioning and implementation of the agreement on road transport between the EU and Ukraine," the report says. It also notes that during the implementation of the Road Safety Strategy, equal emphasis should be placed on four pillars - infrastructure safety, vehicle safety, safe road use, and post-accident management. At the same time, it is noted that in June 2024 the agreement on road transport, which refers to the temporary liberalization of bilateral and transit road transport between the EU and Ukraine, was extended until June 30, 2025. The report also mentions that Ukraine is currently in the process of ratifying the Interbus Protocol on International Regular and Special Regular Passenger Transportation by Bus.
The European Commission draws special attention to the fact that as of 2023, the progress of the railway transport reform is delayed due to the expected legislation, despite its partial alignment with EU technical standards. Emphasis is placed, in particular, on the fact that there is still no independent regulatory body in Ukraine. "Ukraine should adopt a new Law on Railway Transport in order to create legal conditions for the functioning of a competitive passenger and freight transport market and create an institutional basis for an independent regulatory body, an independent national safety authority and separate infrastructure management from railway transport operations, which will allow the implementation of future railway legislation ", experts emphasize.
The Expansion Package assesses the revival of maritime transport thanks to the Black Sea Corridor launched by Ukraine in August 2023, following Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative. But it notes that progress in harmonizing legislation with EU maritime principles, including port state control and vessel traffic monitoring, has been minimal. Currently, the development and implementation of rules for inland waterways transportation is underway, which will improve the safety of shipping and the functioning of the market, the report says. It is also noted that Ukraine's participation in the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and bilateral agreements with coastal states reflect efforts to facilitate internal navigation. "Ukraine should continue to work on fulfilling all the necessary requirements regarding the current process of recognition of certificates on inland waterways," the document says.
The European Commission pays attention to the closure of the airspace for civil air transport over Ukraine, but also points out that, while the regulatory alignment with EU aviation rules continues, the review of the list of transpositions of the EU-Ukraine Agreement on common aviation space has not yet been considered.
Judging by the report, Ukraine has not made progress in the field of multimodal transthe port In general, according to the level of approximation of our law to EU standards as of the fall of 2024, in the field of transport policy, Ukraine received a two. According to EU terminology, this assessment indicates "some conformity with EU law".
Number two in Ukraine in terms of implementation of reforms and in the field of Trans-European networks. It is noted that in December 2023, Ukraine signed a high-level agreement with the European Commission on improving transport links. According to the revised TEN-T regulation, the corridors for the Trans-European transport network were extended to Ukraine: North Sea - Baltic Sea through Lviv and Kyiv to Mariupol; Baltic Sea - Black Sea - Aegean Sea to Odesa via Lviv and Chisinau; and the Baltic Sea - Adriatic Sea and Rhine-Danube corridors up to Lviv.
Ukraine's efforts have been focused on the emergency repair and restoration and development of vital links with Danube ports, EU member states and Moldova within the framework of the EU-Ukraine Solidarit Lanes initiative, experts note. On the other hand, administrative capabilities and project preparation in this area still need development, experts emphasize. They also note that Ukraine should start implementing a strategy for the development and expansion of border infrastructure with EU member states and the Republic of Moldova by 2030. This will help prioritize investments in border crossing infrastructure and capacity at rail and road crossings linked to the TEN-T, the report said.
In 2023, our progress on transport reforms was only 3%. This figure was reflected in the report prepared by Ukraine and handed over to the EU side as part of the 9th meeting of the Ukraine-EU Association Council in Brussels in March. It does not look like our success will be significantly better this year.
As TTS already wrote, it was in the spring of 2023 that active work began on the draft law on railway transport, which we need to adopt in order not to disrupt the agreements with the World Bank and to fulfill the obligations assumed by the Association Agreement with the EU. We will remind you that a cabinet bill with a similar name was registered in the Verkhovna Rada the week before last. Officials say that it contains all the provisions that international partners insist on, and it has also been agreed with business representatives. But such a position is denied by the representatives of business and the opposition forces in the parliament.