Over EUR 94m for investment at the border crossings with Moldova, Ukraine

Over EUR 94 million worth of European funds were allotted in investments at Romania's border crossings with Moldova and Ukraine and we placed Moldova at the European Union's table of dialogue, construction and funding, which means the future development of its infrastructure, European Commissioner for Transport Adina Valean said on Tuesday at a review of her term of office."If we are to talk about Moldova and Ukraine in this new context, from the European budget we got over EUR 94 million for investments at Romania's border crossings with Moldova and Ukraine, such as a new bridge in Ungheni, improving local infrastructure at Vicsani, Siret, Albita, Galati. We had a constant policy of support for Moldova, just as Romania had, and we practically placed Moldova at the European Union's table of dialogue, construction and funding, which means the future development of its infrastructure, whether it is the north-south railway, connectivity, bridges with Ukraine, with Romania, the development of its port of Giurgiulesti, so that it has a connection on the Danube with the Black Sea," said Valean.She added that during her five-year term of office she made the Danube a priority, and the Fast Danube II navigability project "almost received funding from the European Union.""We had the Danube as a priority and I am glad that Fast Danube II, which is a navigability project, basically concrete navigability works on the Danube throughout the year, was finally submitted and gained funding - or rather almost gained funding from the European Union. I must tell you that it was quite complicated to submit the project, but, with the help of a group of experts that I made available to Romania and Bulgaria, to the European Commission, the project was written in such a way that it would be successful and I am pleased that I am leaving behind a project for the future in terms of the Danube."Valean added that Sulina, an the essential connectivity canal with the Black Sea, was also established."If we are talking about the Danube amidst solidarity corridors, we financed technical beaconing and signalling works for the Sulina Canal and, despite the discussions that had been going on for many years in relation to which of the Danube canals represent for the European Union and our transport maps the essential connectivity channel with the Black Sea, the discussion is definitively settled. Here we are talking about the Sulina Canal, so that the cargo transport of goods on the Danube to the Black Sea has as a priority or main corridor, the main axis, the Sulina Canal."The outgoing commissioner also mentioned the road transport industry in Romania, which has a contribution of 6.5 percent to GDP."We implemented measures under the Mobility Package II for Romanian drivers, so that they have better working conditions - of course, now I am talking about Romanians, but not only - to have better working conditions. During the pandemic, we created what were called the green corridors, which allowed them to cross the blocked borders on special lanes, so that the flow of goods and logistics worked. In addition, they were essential workers for the economy of the European Union and we introduced a lot of digital transformation in terms of transport documents. Also, an extremely important issue for the road transport of goods is the existence of secure parking lots. We know that road hauliers face many problems of safety, security and working conditions related to the existence or not of secure parking spaces and we introduced the obligation that on all corridors of the European Union, every 150 km, secure parking lots must be built."