Given that traditional transport routes were blocked, we need to find alternative ways of transporting grain and other goods to and from Ukraine and Moldova. Thanks to these agreements, we can increase the level of exports and imports by road, without creating bottlenecks at the border crossing. This not only reduces the risk of a global food crisis but is also a step towards further expanding the transport relationship between the EU and these countries. EP rapporteur Marian-Jean Marinescu.

In January-September 2022, Moldova's road transport enterprises, which have a preponderance in the structure of transported goods (79.8%), transported 11.8 million tons of goods, 6.1% more compared to the same period of the previous year. The share of goods transported by road transport in the total volume of goods transported by this mode of transport in the city of Chisinau constituted 46.6%, the development regions Center – 28.8%, North – 15.3%, South – 5.8% and UTA Gagauzia – 3.5%.

The circulation of goods both within the country and with the destination of import or export takes place using road transport. Thus, some permissive documents issued by the National Road Transport Agency are necessary to carry out road transport operations in national and international traffic.

These permissive documents fall under the category of authorizations and include:

  • Authorization of the Republic of Moldova for foreign carriers that carry out regular bilateral routes or transit on the territory of the Republic of Moldova;
  • Annual CEMT multilateral authorization, with road record;
  • CEMT multilateral short-term authorization, with road record;
  • Authorization for international road transport of goods;

It is necessary to mention that the permissive acts issued by the Agency can be divided into two distinct categories, namely permissive acts with a limited number, especially international authorizations whose quota is established according to bilateral or multilateral agreements, and permissive acts with an unlimited number, which are issued based on the request of road transport operators, in particular authorizations for the performance of regular services, occasional services, certificates of compliance with technical requirements.

The respective authorizations, in the Republic of Moldova, are issued to road transport operators notified to ANTA. On 16.08.2022, 3514 road transport operators were registered in the Agency's Register of road transport operators, of which 2425 have the right to provide services in international traffic. Annually, following the exchange of authorizations with partner states and the receipt of multilateral authorization quotas, ANTA issues over 100 thousand authorizations.

By Government Decision no. 183/2021, changes were made to the Regulation on the issuance and use of road transport authorizations, and from May 2022, the "e-Transport Authorization" information system was launched. As a result, the request and issuance of authorizations are carried out exclusively through this system.

In 2022 Parliament gave the green light to EU agreements with Moldova to facilitate the cross-border transport of goods. The two new EU agreements on road transport are part of the EU's response to disruptions in the transport sectors in Ukraine and Moldova caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. With Ukrainian airspace closed to civilian traffic and sea exports extremely limited, Ukraine must find alternative road routes to export its stockpiles of grain, fuel, food and other goods. Moldova is similarly suffering, needing alternative transit routes through the EU and assistance in transiting Ukrainian goods through its territory. The agreements approved will replace existing bilateral transport agreements with EU countries. The new agreements temporarily facilitate the transport of goods by road, allowing Moldovan and EU carriers to transit and operate between the respective territories without the need for related permits.

The norms regarding expedition in the Civil Code are general in nature and are mainly devoted to road transport, which is why many social relationships remain without legal coverage.

In the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, the requirement regarding the mandatory holding of a license for the practice of expedition activity has not been introduced. Consequently, any entrepreneur (individual or legal entity) can claim to carry out the expedition activity, without any impediments under this aspect. The expedition contract can hardly be delimited from other service contracts in the Civil Code. The reason is that the legal construction of the contract is a complex one, made up of a "mixture" of elements taken from different contracts, such as transport, mandate, commission, deposit, services, contract, etc.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.