Prihláste sa na odber noviniek
At the end of September 2023, negotiations took place in Rome at a meeting called the Corridor of Solidarity: Triangle of Cooperation Italy – Slovakia – Ukraine, with the participation of ministers, heads of state assemblies, WFP experts, representatives of regions as well as Slovak and Italian companies.
The main goal of the meeting was to initiate an expert discussion on the modalities of the so-called solidarity corridors from Ukraine to Italian ports and from there on to third countries, possibly also to the European Union market. The event was held at the initiative of the Slovak Republic in light of the recent non-extension of the EU ban on importing four selected agricultural commodities from Ukraine and the subsequent adoption of a unilateral protective measure by Slovakia.
The meeting was attended by the Slovak Minister of Transport, Pavol Lančarič, the Italian Minister for Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, the head of the Ukrainian Embassy in Rome, Yaroslav Melnyk, the head of EUDEL in Italy, Antonio Parenti, representatives of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, World Food Program experts, as well as representatives of important Slovak and Italian companies in the field of infrastructure, transport and carriers (ZSSK Cargo Slovakia, DB Cargo Transa, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, Mercitalia Rail, FIAP, Sistema Portuale-mare Adriatico Orientale). The event was also attended by representatives of the Government Office of the Slovak Republic, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Slovak Republic and the Honorary Consul of the Slovak Republic in Trieste, Luca Davide Farina.
As was heard in the discussion, it will be necessary to define complex technical, infrastructural and, last but not least, financial aspects in the individual sections of the route from Ukraine to the port in Trieste, Italy, and the European Commission will also need to be involved in the solution. Minister Urso and the Head of the Embassy of Ukraine expressed readiness for cooperation in this sector. All participants agreed on the need for further meetings and negotiations, ideally directly in Trieste, at the prefecture, with the participation of the top management of the local port.
The discussion also followed up on the Slovak proposal for an export mechanism for Ukrainian products, which was presented by the Slovak Minister of Transport at the Platform for Ukrainian Exports meetings, unfortunately, without an adequate response from the European Commission.
Representatives of ZSSK CARGO presented the capacity options for transhipment of grain in individual terminals in Slovakia, especially in Čierna nad Tisou. Capacity options for the infrastructure, current transport and grain transport corridors to Europe were also presented.
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