Ukraine plans to agree with the EU on the extension of the transport visa-free regime by the end of 2026

Negotiations with the EU on the continuation of the agreement

According to 5 канал — Економіка: Ukraine plans to agree with the European Union on the extension of the agreement on the liberalization of freight transportation by the end of 2026. This was stated by the First Deputy Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure Serhiy Derkach in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

An important aspect of this process is the necessity to fulfill internal obligations, in particular, updating the licensing conditions for access to the freight transportation market, which already involves the preparation of the relevant draft document, currently undergoing final approval in other state bodies.

State and prospects of freight transportation

The current transport visa-free regime, which allows Ukrainian carriers to conduct export and import transportation to EU countries without separate permits, is valid until April 2027. Serhiy Derkach expects that the government will be able to adopt the relevant decision on extending the agreement this fall.

The Ukrainian side is actively negotiating with the European Commission and EU member states, particularly in the context of discussing the issue of driver shortages.

According to data for 2025, road transport accounted for about 40% of Ukrainian exports and 73% of imports in monetary terms. To improve the situation with the shortage of drivers, the Ministry of Infrastructure proposed to the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Defense to increase the share of drivers that enterprises can reserve to 75%, but received a refusal. The Ministry of Agrarian Policy also joined the consideration of this issue.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of Infrastructure initiated a program for training women drivers about two and a half years ago, demonstrating active efforts to address the staffing problem in the field of freight transportation.

It was previously reported that Ukraine and the EU extended the transport visa-free regime until the end of 2025. Recently, the Council of the European Union approved the mandate for negotiations with Ukraine regarding the extension of the Agreement on the Liberalization of Freight Transportation, which is the next step in strengthening cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union in the field of transport.

The continuation of the agreement on the liberalization of freight transportation is of great importance for the Ukrainian economy, as road transport is critically important for the country's foreign economic activity. Given that a significant part of exports and imports depends on freight transportation, successful negotiations with the EU can ensure stability in this area.

At the same time, addressing the issue of driver shortages is a key task for improving the efficiency of transportation and supporting trade volumes with the EU.