Troubling negotiations between Romanian carriers and the government

During the long, protracted negotiations, which lasted almost four hours, the participants of the protests among the Romanian carriers managed to achieve the recognition of their demands from the ministry quickly enough in full. The only exception was the transfer of the checkweigher of the National Road Infrastructure Management Company of Romania far from the border to avoid traffic jams in the border area.

The newspaper speculates that CNAIR representatives may not have fully understood the demands of the protesters and may have hoped for the fatigue of the participants after four days of actions and four hours of negotiations. Thus, they decided to change the requirements of carriers, turning them into “regulating the possibility of a fine for the absence of a vignette if the waiting time at the border exceeds its validity.”

It is noted that the key objectives of this protest were to move the checkpoint several kilometers from the PP, in order to facilitate traffic. This is especially relevant given the existing European regulation (1100/2008), which provides for control on the national territory (including weight and overall weight measurements of vehicles).

But, having moved the overall and weight control 15 km from the border, its implementation will now be the responsibility of the State Inspection for Road Transport Control of Romania (ISCTR). It is important to note here that the CNAIR has the right to carry out controls only at the border, while the control of vehicles within the territory of the country is the responsibility of the ISCTR.

Government officials agreed to make changes to most of the regulatory and legal points and to implement new measures demanded by the carriers. This includes the formation of separate lanes at the border and at the port of Constanta, which will allow only trucks from EU countries to enter, while vehicles from other countries will travel on a separate track.

According to the carriers, this measure will significantly reduce the waiting time at the borders, as it is known that violations are constantly detected during inspections, for example, of trucks from the Middle East. In cases of detection of illegal immigrants, traffic control is blocked, and trucks can stand at the border for several hours.

For the port of Constanţa, this practically means a separate lane for Romanian trucks, which, after waiting for many hours or even days due to the accumulation of vehicles with Ukrainian license plates, will be able to pass control faster.

Another demand of the protesters was the restoration of tolerances based on the weight and size parameters of vehicles in order to avoid high fines. For example, there is a fine of 1,500 lei (approx. 300 euros) for exceeding the weight of a truck by 20 kg, and there are also penalties for exceeding the size by less than 1 cm.