EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes: Commission and EBRD join forces to step up transport connectivity between the EU, Ukraine, and Moldova

At a conference with key partners yesterday, the Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) defined infrastructure needs and funding resources to step up transport connectivity between the EU, Ukraine and Moldova as part of the Solidarity Lanes initiative. Improvements can be made with relatively low costs by implementing smart solutions, as well as improving cooperation and coordination between administrations and partners. Participants in the conference also agreed on specific short-term actions and potential financing to support the flow of goods to and from Ukraine, and to reconvene regularly to monitor and follow through on the financial and administrative steps.

While the Solidarity Lanes have opened much-needed alternative corridors for Ukrainian exports and imports, they are reaching their capacity limits; bottlenecks persist and logistics costs remain high. To address these problems and further improve these new logistics corridors, the Commission, the EBRD, the EIB and the World Bank have mobilised €1 billion of financial support.

Participants in yesterday's conference included: Commissioner Vălean, EBRD President Renaud-Basso, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Yuri Vaskov, Romanian and Moldovan Deputy Prime Ministers Grindeanu and Spinu, as well as other high-level representatives from Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, the EU and its Member States, the EBRD, EIB and the World Bank, the Danube Commission and key transport and logistics partners in the region.

Commissioner for Transport Adina Vălean said: “Our Solidarity Lanes have become a lifeline for Ukraine, but we must go further than what we have already put in place.  We need more investment to purchase scanners and transhipment equipment, and to upgrade transport infrastructure. This is why today, we are mobilising the EU's financial resources, in particular the Connecting Europe Facility, for cross-border infrastructure, and why we are working closely with international financial institutions, such as the EBRD.  We want to find joint solutions to the challenges ahead, to support our Ukrainian and Moldovan colleagues in their every-day transport operations, and to remove remaining bottlenecks at the EU-Ukraine border.”

For further details, please see the press remarks by Commissioner Vălean.

(For more information: Adalbert Jahnz – Tel.: +32 2 295 31 56; Célia Dejond – Tel.: +32 2 298 81 99)