ESTABLISHMENT OF A SUSTAINABLE LEGISLATIVE BASIS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE EU STANDARDS AS A RELIABLE FOUNDATION FOR EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF INTERNATIONAL TRANSPORT AND LOGISTICS PROJECTS WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF UKRAINE

01.06.2020

The transport industry is one of the basic sectors of Ukraine's economy, which involves 13 seaports with a total handling capacity of more than 230 million tons per year. 2,714.5 kilometers of inland waterways which can be classified as navigable stretch along the territory of Ukraine. The national network of public autoroads is 169,652 kilometers. Ukraine's operational railway network is one of the largest in Europe and reaches about 20,951.8 kilometers, of which 9,926.4 kilometers are electrified.

Ukraine has all the prerequisites to play the role of the main transit transport bridge connecting Europe and Asia. To fully realize this potential and turn Ukraine into the main transit country of the Eurasian continent with the most comfortable conditions for transportation in the Europe-Asia connection and a reliable international partner-provider of the best logistics services on the continent is an ambitious objective that the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine set itself a few years ago. The set goal, the announced current plans and real actions aimed at achieving it and restoring the status of one of the key participants in international transport corridors will be discussed during the VII Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum, which will be hosted by Ukraine (Kherson) this year.

Stressing the importance of the meeting of the partners from the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea to the Baltic at the forum’s sites, Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Transport and Infrastructure, People’s Deputy of Ukraine Yurii Kisiel noted in particular:


 "The National Transport Strategy of Ukraine for the period up to 2030, adopted in May 2018, openly states that "today the transport industry as a whole meets only the basic needs of the population and the economy in transportation, but not in quality. The current state of the transport industry does not fully meet the requirements of the effective implementation of Ukraine's European integration course and the integration of its national transport network into the Trans-European Transport Network". During these two years, the situation has not changed for the better. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi emphasizes that the time for talks are long gone and underlines that it is necessary to pay special attention to bringing Ukraine's transport infrastructure in proper condition. Taking the opportunity that the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum to be held in Ukraine this year, we will be able not only to "synchronize watches" with our partners from Europe and Asia, but also to define certain markers and coordinate joint action plans. The fact that Ukraine has one of the best transit potential between Europe and Asia is an axiom, as is the fact that real action is needed to use it. This year, a record sum of UAH 37.3 billion has been included in the budget of Ukraine for the development of the road network and UAH 21.8 billion - for a subvention to local budgets for road facilities; it is planned to build and reconstruct at least 4 thousand kilometers of roads. The long-awaited Law of Ukraine on Inland Water Transport in Ukraine was adopted in the first reading, which will promote the transport development of the Dnieper River, based on the EU legislative experience. We are well aware that in order to effectively implement such international projects as the establishment of a corridor for effective cooperation, that is coordinated by the Baltic-Black Sea Economic Forum and has a partnership chain from the Baltic to the eastern shores of the Caspian Sea, in Ukraine, we need the legal and regulatory frameworks  which comply with the EU standards and current international statutory instruments. This is the direction in which the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Transport and Infrastructure is confidently moving, being ready for cooperation in the interests of Ukraine and the effective participation of its enterprises and organizations in international transport and logistics projects".