“To date, international exchange of permits allowing transportation of cargo had sometimes been performed without coordinating the state’s negotiating position with social partners and authorities responsible for foreign policy matters. Our goal, therefore, before entering into negotiations with another state, is hearing out the carriers’ interests. Thus, building on the experience of the past year, the Ministry of Transport and Communications prepared and approved a negotiation procedure allowing for more efficient representation of the interests of the state and the carriers,” commented Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Loreta Maskaliovienė.
With the permits, the carriers will be able to perform international transport of goods and passengers, i. e. to enter the territory or cross it in transit. It is estimated that the permit quota, if possible, should meet the needs of Lithuanian carriers and correspond to the state’s transport policy targets this year and in the long-term period of 2 to 3 years. The permits exchange procedure will be a way to reach parity between the contracting parties.
In accordance with the above procedure, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, along with carriers’ associations (and other authorities, should the need arise), will be able to send their representatives to the Lithuanian negotiations delegation. Delegations will be led by a deputy minister or management of a responsible unit of the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
In order to protect the national carriers’ interests and to allow fair competition, the Ministry of Transport and Communications also plans to strengthen control of third party carriers going through the territory of Lithuania. As of 1 February, foreign carriers acquiring electronic vignettes permitting access to toll-controlled roads, will have to provide the details of the available permit to transport goods. This way, controlling and issuing authorities will be able to perform closer monitoring of fair usage of permits and thus reduce cases of repeated usage of permits. The Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration will pay closer attention to third-party carrier control.
Additionally, with the view to reinforce Lithuania’s negotiating positions, it is planned to approve a new procedure for using permits issued to foreign countries by the middle of this year.
Each year, Lithuania conducts negotiations with regard to mutually issued permits to carriers with Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, countries of Central Asia and EU member states. Bilateral negotiations are conducted on the basis of intergovernmental agreements. In the road transport sector, Lithuania has a total of 32 intergovernmental agreements on international transportation of passengers and goods.
