Transport Community praises Ukraine cooperation on EU law, but notes war-related difficulties
Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community Matej Zakonjsek has highly praised cooperation with Ukraine in implementing European transport legislation, which accounts for almost 25% of all EU law, while acknowledging difficulties in putting it into practice.
Commenting in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine on the report on Ukraine’s implementation of the Transport Community Action Plan, where even partial implementation scores remain low, he said the process was very complex and that the volume of legislation that must be transposed and implemented is extremely large.
"Point two, when it comes to Ukraine, needless to say, due to the war conditions, that is an additional element, which does not help or assist things to go faster, but it’s something that, of course, we not only understand. So, it’s completely understandable that some things will take more time, and some things will need to also wait for the conditions on the ground to change, specifically when it comes to the implementation. So, that is where I think we need to show, and we are showing a lot of understanding when it comes to this," he said.
"Thirdly, when it comes to where Ukraine is in my assessment, I have to say that on a political level, the cooperation has been really excellent. This is something that also on a technical level, we have seen a lot of progress in the different modes of transport. For example, we have seen a very good cooperation with the colleagues from the inland waterway sector and from the waterway sector, and so on," Zakonjsek said.
At the same time, he noted that Ukraine’s railway network is extremely extensive, which creates major difficulties both for legislative reform and for implementation on the ground.
"One thing that we also see, both in the Western Balkans, but also in Ukraine and Moldova, is the challenge of the administrative capacity to actually deliver on all the reforms. And this is also why we spent so much time on building those capacities, because this is something that we also receive as a feedback from the ministries, assist us with capacity building. And that’s why a lot of our projects are focused on technical assistance on one hand, studies that we can provide on the other, and then exchange of best practices with EU member states to help that. So, that is an ongoing process, and I’m sure, of course, it will continue for a while, but this is where our focus is in the upcoming future," the director of the Permanent Secretariat said.
Commenting on the lack of technical information from Ukraine on implementation of the Transport Community Action Plan across many parameters, Zakonjsek said that "the war situation, of course, also does not allow a lot of things to happen, so we do trust that as the things move forward, and hopefully, of course, when the things normalise, that this dynamic will also, of course, change."
He said that in the road transport sector the Transport Community is helping Ukraine with 11 legal acts that will then be implemented, while in maritime transport work is underway on aligning 13 acts with EU legislation.
"All of this will be ready in May, so basically in one month’s time. All of this will then be ready for the Ukrainian authorities too, on one hand state, then to transpose it in the national legislation, that takes some time, go through all the legal procedures in Ukraine, and then, of course, very importantly, to implement it on the ground," the director of the Permanent Secretariat said.
Asked how realistic it is for Ukraine to meet all Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) requirements by 2030, he noted that this deadline applies to the core network, 2040 applies to the extended core network, and only 2050 applies to the comprehensive network.
"So, modernisation of the railway tracks is happening. The work on the different parts of the legislation when it comes to the maritime and when it comes to roads is happening. How much this will translate and by when into the changes on the ground is perhaps a bit premature to say, but the one thing that I can say is that the trajectory is positive. So, the direction of travel is positive," Zakonjsek said.