European integration ways across the Ukrainian-Romanian border
17 April 2025, 10:48
Ukrainian-Romanian meeting held in Chernivtsi on April 9, 2025 was aimed to promote further development of transfrontier connections infrastructure across the common border. Meeting was chaired by the Deputy Minister of Community and Territorial Development of Ukraine Serhiy Derkach and by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Romania Ionel Scrioșteanu. This meeting summarized the achievements of previous similar Ukrainian-Romanian and Ukrainian- Romanian - Moldovan events, which were carried out during 2023-2024 under the auspices of the EU Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM).
In parallel, these issues were considered at the Committee meeting on 04.04.2023. And, a year later, on April 15-16, 2024 the specified range of problems and their resolution was comprehensively considered during a joint field meeting of the Committee and EUAM in Bukovina, which embraces more than a third of the Ukrainian-Romanian border, and where are located the main international border crossing points: the auto-road Porubne - Siret and the railway Vadul-Siret - Vicșani - Dornești.
In general, the Ukrainian-Romanian border makes up about 45% of the total length of Ukraine's common borders with the EU and NATO member states. This border connects 4 Ukrainian regions (Transcarpathian, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi and Odessa) with 7 counties of Romania. Therefore, the development of transport and border infrastructure and logistics is constantly considered at the aforementioned meetings - from the junction of the Ukrainian-Romanian border with Hungary in Transcarpathia to the confluence of the Danube into the Black Sea.
In particular, at the meeting on 09.04.2025, the following joint actions were agreed: upon regarding the passage of large buses through the "Dyakivtsi - Rakovets" checkpoint, the completion of the bridge over the Tysa River and the "Bila Tserkva – Sighetu-Marmaţiei" checkpoint construction, further development of the checkpoints " Dyakovo - Halmeu" and " Krasnoilsk - Vikovu de Sus", opening of the checkpoints "Bila Krynytsia - Klimăuti", "Ruska - Ulma", "Shepit - Izvoarile-Suchevei", expansion of the capacity of the ferry checkpoint "Orlivka - Isaccea", the possibility for bridge across the Danube construction, construction of driveways, etc.
These tasks are foreseen by the Strategy for the Development of Border Crossing Points between Romania and Ukraine and the Nearby Road Infrastructure in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of Romania on Strengthening Cooperation for Ensuring Reliable Transit of Ukrainian Goods, signed at the joint meeting of both Governments on October 18, 2023 in accordingly to the Statement of the Presidents of Ukraine and Romania on October 10, 2023.
As peculiarities of the meeting on 09.04.2025 were the new challenges for all involved issues, which should now be considered in the context of the new transfrontier EU TEN-T transport corridor "Baltic Sea - Black Sea - Aegean Sea", which was finally approved on 22.12.2023, as well as of the Three Seas Initiative, whereas these macro-regional structures cover entirely the whole Ukrainian-Romanian border area. At the same time, it was very important the participation in this meeting not only of the Central and Territorial State bodies, which are directly related to the border issues, but also of key representatives from the boundary regions of both countries.
These features are due to the fact that the specified border territories are the subjects of the Transfrontier Cooperation under the legislation of Ukraine and the EU. In particular, out of 52 territorial communities in Chernivtsi region, one third (17) are directly boundary to the state border. Therefore, the success of the above-mentioned problems resolution is critically depends on active interaction with and between border regions and communities.
The relevance of this factor is also evidenced by the fact that the entire Ukrainian-Romanian border area is covered by 3 common Euroregions: "Carpathian", "Upper Prut" and "Lower Danube", whose priorities from the very beginning include both the modern restoration and development of transfrontier, Pan-European and local connections, and the development of border infrastructure, which should meet both transit and regional needs as much as possible.
These components of Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration have been constantly in the field of attention of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, starting with the recommendations of the Parliamentary Hearings initiated by the Committee and approved by resolutions No 1242-V of 27.06.2007 and dated No. 1537- VIII of 21.09.2016. The Committee also systematically considered and highlighted such integration aspects in this field as: the consideration by 4 key Committees of the Verkhovna Rada and ministers from neighbor countries of the transport systems development in the Carpathian macroregion, synchronization of the development of transport and border infrastructure, cooperation with Romania on the development of multimodal transportation, in the broader context of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and on strategic projects that meet the common priorities of the Three Seas Initiative.