Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Vladimir Varbanov called for a temporary suspension of the provisions of the Mobility Package I on the return of trucks until the end of Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. This happened during today's informal video conference of the European Union's Transport Ministers.
The Deputy Minister pointed out that the war in Ukraine would have a long-term negative impact on the state of the economy and the functioning of the transport sector in the European Union.
"A large number of Ukrainian drivers, dispatchers and freight forwarders work in the European Union. Many have returned to Ukraine in response to military mobilization, which has exacerbated the lack of professional heavy duty vehicle drivers. The application of the new restrictions, in particular the return rule, requires additional operations and drivers, which are difficult to organize and engage at this stage.
In such extreme circumstances, it is important that the road haulage sector be facilitated to operate in the most efficient and effective way possible, without unnecessary deviations, empty courses and loss of time and resources", Vladimir Varbanov said.
During the talks, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications called for coordinated action at European Union level for the rapid and safe evacuation of seafarers stationed in Ukrainian ports. He pointed out that the Bulgarian side is making constant and systematic efforts to repatriate the crew members who are Bulgarian citizens, and so far six of the seafarers have been evacuated and are already in Bulgaria.
