The team of the Ministry for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development, led by Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration, Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov, has already held its first meetings.
During consultations with Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure of Poland, and Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, Minister of Development Funds and Regional Policy, the parties discussed topical issues of cooperation, including:
– Prolongation of the Agreement on Liberalisation of Freight Transport between Ukraine and the EU;
– Development of border crossing points and signing of the Joint Control Agreement;
– Development of railway communication, in particular through the mechanisms of the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility programme;
– Implementation of the NUTS system in Ukraine and the formation of effective municipal statistics for regional development;
– Implementation of 694 existing international agreements between communities and regions;
– Exchange of experience in the use of structural funds in the field of decentralisation and regional policy.
“The extension of the Agreement on Liberalisation of Freight Transport is critically important for our economy. We currently have the support of the European Commission in this matter and are working in detail on the proposed amendments to the updated Agreement. Some of them are easy to implement, while others contain a number of risks that could significantly affect the implementation of the Agreement. Therefore, it is crucial for us to develop a balanced position that will satisfy all parties and promote a balance in the freight market,” said Oleksandr Kubrakov.
He also stressed that Ukraine and Poland had now agreed on a joint text of the Agreement on Joint Customs and Border Control. The Polish side has already submitted the finalised text to the European Commission for feedback. Following the EU’s approval, the two countries are expected to sign the document.
The agreement will allow for a strategic approach to the development of the common border, including the construction of new joint border crossing points, and will generally speed up control procedures.
In addition, the agreement will be the first document of its kind to be signed by Ukraine with an EU country. This will provide an opportunity to initiate similar agreements with other EU member states bordering Ukraine.
The parties also discussed preparations for the opening and full operation of the Nyzhankovychi – Malhowice checkpoint. Currently, it is operating on temporary infrastructure, but construction work is almost complete, and the opening is scheduled for June. The Ukrainian side stressed that it is critical that this checkpoint be able to handle trucks up to 7.5 tons and empty trucks weighing more than 7.5 tons.
The two sides also agreed to set up a working group to focus on supporting reforms in regional policy and decentralisation. This is vital for Ukraine to fulfill its European integration commitments.
“Poland is a champion in the use of structural funds at the local and regional level. That is why it is a priority for Ukraine to learn from their experience. Last year, the Ministry’s team participated in two exercises in Poland, and we will strengthen this practice by extending it to local and regional authorities. We are also working to engage partners in building community capacity. Similar projects are already operating in several communities in Sumy region, and we need to scale them up to all affected regions,” commented Oleksandr Kubrakov. (Government portal)
