The Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine and the European Commission will be able to officially start negotiations on the extension of the Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine on the Carriage of Freight by Road. The relevant mandate for the negotiations was approved by the EU Council at its meeting on 29 April.

Currently, the European Commission proposes 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. This means the possibility to carry out permit-free bilateral transport at least until June 2025 inclusive.

“We welcome the decision of the European Union to start formal negotiations on the extension of the Agreement. It is important for us to retain the ability to carry out freight transport 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, over the past six months we have been working with the European Commission to ensure that the decision to extend the Agreement is made on time – by the end of June. It is important that all amendments to the extended Agreement are clear, transparent and do not restrict Ukrainian carriers in their right to freely transport goods to and from Ukraine,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration of Ukraine and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development.

The official text for discussion will be sent to Ukraine in the near future.