PURPOSE: to approve the conclusion, on behalf of the European Union, of the Agreement between the European Union and Moldova 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: due to the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine, the transport of goods from Moldova has become very difficult. Due to the severe disruption of the transport sector in Moldova, Moldovan operators have to find alternative road transit routes through the EU and new markets for their exports.

Given that permits granted in the framework of the European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) multilateral quota system within the International Transport Forum and existing bilateral agreements with the Republic of Moldova do not allow for the necessary flexibility for Moldovan road haulage operators to increase and plan ahead their operations through and with the European Union, it is crucial to liberalise the transport of freight by road for bilateral operations as well as for transit.

CONTENT: the purpose of this proposal is to approve the conclusion on behalf of the European Union of the Agreement between the European Union and Moldova 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 Moldova by granting additional transit and haulage rights between the Parties to carriers established in one of the Parties, taking into account the repercussions of the war of aggression waged by Russia against Ukraine and the significant disruption it is causing to the transport sector in the Republic of Moldova.

This EU-Moldova road transport agreement would therefore replace the existing bilateral transport agreements between the Member States and Ukraine and would facilitate the use of alternative road routes for transport operators, as bilateral operations and transit would be liberalised between the two parties.

The agreement is the most effective instrument to strengthen road transport relations between the EU and Moldova, as it removes the need for quotas and permits in the bilateral agreements between the Member States and Moldova.