On September 25, 2025, Ukraine and the EU extended the special “transport visa-free” regime until March 31, 2027.
This means that bilateral and transit freight transport between Ukraine and the EU will continue to be carried out without the need to obtain permits. This was recently discussed at the event “Ukraine-EU Trade: Between Market Access and Rule Integration.” “For businesses, this means predictable routes, fewer administrative delays, and more efficient fleet planning,” said Iryna Kosse, a leading researcher at the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting (IER).
This is important because, due to the war, road transport has become a key channel for 63% of trade with the EU. In 2024, road transport carried 45% of Ukrainian exports to the EU ($11.1 billion) and received 75% of imports ($26.9 billion).
“Road transport has become the main channel for high-value and time-sensitive goods. These include various components, consumer goods, FMCG, fuel, etc. In 2024, the value of road trade with the EU amounted to $38 billion, which is 20% more than in 2021,” said Iryna Kosse.
“Transport visa-free travel” supported trade during the war and helped overcome the “ceiling” of permits at the border. The IER, together with GET, calculated that the absence of this regime could lead to cumulative losses of $13.3–26 billion in 2022–2024. “The regime will work until we give grounds for the safeguard brake to be applied. The cost of a mistake is billions of our export and import flow,” warned Iryna Kosse.
Key parameters of the extended “transport visa-free” regime:
❖ Cabotage in the EU is prohibited, and cross-trade outside the agreement is regulated by separate rules.
❖ The driver must have a full set of documents (CMR, order, invoices, insurance, confirmation of “empty run”) and a special sticker.
❖ Euro 5 and higher class vehicles operate without permits.
❖ a “safeguard clause” remains in place – any EU country may temporarily suspend the regime on its territory in the event of serious imbalances.
“Жодна держава-член ЄС не застосувала це застереження. Але сам факт наявності такого механізму означає, що будь-які зловживання або масові порушення правил підвищують ризик точкових обмежень”, – пояснила Ірина Коссе.
According to the expert, from July 1, 2026, all new trucks must be equipped with smart tachographs, which will be checked at the border. Ukraine will also introduce EU standards for the business reputation of carriers and the qualifications of managers. Full documentation remains mandatory.
Ukraine plans to develop road connections with the EU. “The government is making efforts to increase traffic capacity. The first Polish motorway already reaches the Krakivets-Korchova checkpoint. Poland is also building two more motorways to the Yagodin and Rava-Ruska checkpoints. On the Ukrainian side, we are currently focusing on the road to Yagodin, which will be upgraded to a four-lane expressway in the coming years. We are also looking for funding to start construction of a motorway from Lviv to Krakivets,” Deputy Minister of Finance Oleksandr Kava also said at the event.
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The event was held as part of the project “Assessment of the economic impact of adapting EU law to specific sectors of the Ukrainian economy” with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation as part of the joint initiative “Joining the EU Together.”
Source: IER
