Speeches: Igor Rounov, IRU Moscow Permanent Delegate, Russian Federation

"Benefits of Regional Co-operation between Road Transport Associations - CIS & BSEC
If for the elimination of existing barriers, time is needed then to avoid the creation of new administrative barriers is possible and even necessary right now."

(click on photo to enlarge)

by Igor Rounov
IRU Moscow Permanent Delegate, Russian Federation

Benefits of Regional Co-operation between Road Transport Associations - CIS & BSEC

The removal of artificial barriers in order to develop road transport.

Dear ladies and gentlemen,

I have been asked to talk about what is preventing the development of road transport in CIS countries and how this takes its toll on regional co-operation issues.

I would like to note that in the 90's we examined two contrasting economic procedures: In Europe there was the process of integration, they were harmonising legislation in European countries, they were creating a single customs area, a single currency was adopted, a European state was created which will have 25 members by May 2004. In the countries of the former USSR there were centrifugal tendencies - independent states arose each with its own legislation, customs area etc.

But, regardless of the contrast of the processes occurring, the number of international hauliers within the countries of the former USSR in the 90's increased 10 - 20 times. As a matter of fact, a new economic sector arose - international road hauliers.

Now the disintegration process within the former USSR is complete there is a growing trend in CIS countries to integrate into a new foundation with no political requirements. The process is not going very evenly but the drive towards integration is evident.

It is precisely because of this new keenness that the question arose of what is holding back the development of road haulage both between CIS countries and the rest of the world - the question of non-physical barriers to road transport.

The IRU Delegation in CIS countries has devoted a great deal of time to studying the reasons for the emergence and evolution of barriers to road transport. There are more than 50 of them within CIS member states. There are various reasons why these have arisen - from the desire of local authorities to gain from their own local (geographical) rent to the desire of governments of the separate countries to achieve a competitive edge at any price and to complicate the lives of hauliers from neighbouring countries. The loss caused by these measures are obvious and amounts to billions of dollars.

It is also completely obvious that they, by their very nature, contradict the ideas of free trade which are the basis of the whole philosophy of the work of the World Trade Organisation, which all CIS countries have expressed their intention of joining (at present only two of them, Moldova and Kirghiz Republic have gained this status). Expressed like this the political will of governments of CIS countries could be used in resolving the question of overcoming barriers.

It is precisely because of this that at a meeting of transport ministers from CIS countries a year ago we suggested moving from just studying barriers to road transport to gradual mutual disarmament, i.e. their removal stage by stage based on WTO principles and practices. On behalf of the Council of road transport of CIS countries a project on this work was prepared for us which was presented at the last meeting of the Council on 22 - 23 September in Petersburg. In brief it comes down to the following basic elements.

It is suggested that from the end of the current year special interdepartmental commissions (committees) should be set up in each of the CIS countries under the leadership of the deputy Heads of Government to deal with transport issues. These commissions (committees) should consist of three constantly active interdepartmental working parties working on the following groups of questions:

Working party for cross-border matters. This first group would have to prepare proposals and recommendations on questions associated with solving the problems of customs, consuls, borders and other associated topics. In this area the fact that the separate departments co-operate so badly is felt particularly keenly. The questions which we would recommend looking at first may include the following:

bringing the rules for examining loads (currently transported under the Carnet TIR procedure) into line with the CIS standard. According to information from the Russian ASMAP (Association of International Road Hauliers) only Russian hauliers annually lose more than 105 million US dollars from standing idle at borders.

establishing clear, standard procedures for organising private escorting (convoys) of loads which do not allow any deviations;

developing a single list of documents required to go through the formalities for loads at the border;

reducing the time for customs' formalities and waiting around at borders;

questions regarding visa formalities including the introduction of professional passports for drivers.

This group should be made up of heads of all departments involved to any extent in regulating these matters on a national level, heads of professional associations of road hauliers and associations of business circles in appropriate countries, national Parliaments since a range of issues may need to be accompanied by legal formalities.

A working party dealing with technical barriers - the second group - must prepare proposals on issues dealing with technical limitations on means of transport. The first things to be dealt with would be:

approving a single certificate for weighing means of road transport,

developing appropriate technical requirements for European standards (compulsory disinfection, ecological standards for engines).

developing a substantiated scale of weight indicators, size requirements and appropriate fines for exceeding them.

The third working party will have to work on a block of issues connected with fiscal barriers , i.e. the gradual abolition of unjustified local and special fees. These include the more or less widespread fees for travelling along roads in general use, paying for transit, for travelling through 'ecological' areas, for compulsory 'local' public liability insurance.

It is necessary to attract not only heads of local authority bodies but also finance ministers to take part in the work of this group in each country.

This is the way to introduce specialisation and setting up working parties which, as we see it, could be set up in CIS countries by the end of the current year with the general co-ordinating role going to the Co-ordinating Transport Conference of transport ministers from CIS countries (CTC CIS).

As far as the results of their work are concerned, they must show that they have prepared concrete proposals (documents, draft government decrees, draft resolutions from legislative bodies etc.) depending on the solution of the associated group of problems.

It is absolutely obvious that these very problems (or barriers) are distinguished from each other apart from everything else by the source of their origins. For example, some of them may be eliminated at an individual ministry or department level, whereas others will require interdepartmental agreement and appropriate government solutions.

Barriers requiring two or more countries to agree on a course of action result in a separate (fourth) group of problems. To solve these problems special bilateral or multilateral working parties could be set up which would have to organise negotiations and prepare appropriate recommendations for their governments. For example issues such as the following could be included:

preparing a special Agreement on abolishing transit fees (or ensuring that fees are the same for everybody)

developing a single procedure to fulfil demands imposed by national customs bodies

bringing in the inevitable changes to the 'Agreement on weights and size of means of transport...' signed in Minsk on 4^th June 1999.

It appears that in the event of approval in full of such an approach on a CIS level, more powerful working parties could be set up at individual country level even before the end of this year and they could start work at the beginning of 2004.

It is absolutely obvious that in each country the priorities of the three aforementioned working parties will be different depending on the predominant problems in the given specific country. But the CIS Council for Road Transport and the CIS CTC could play an amalgamating, co-ordinating role.

These are some general proposals for the gradual removal of administrative barriers to road transport in former Soviet Union countries. We are far from this ideal situation and understand very well that behind each so-called barrier in each of the countries are specific economic interests and influential groups. For this reason we are not hoping for an instant solution for all the problems. But if we work on the basis of each country preparing proposals for setting up a single economic area - but in accordance with countries 'of the four', Russia, the Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan - this figure will be significant in 5 - 7 years and it will be necessary to act quickly in our and your areas of professional interests.

I would like to mention one more fact. If time is needed to eliminate actual barriers then we can and must provide a barrier to introducing new administrative barriers immediately. It is with just this aim that the IRU delegation in Moscow has been working on a Declaration or Code of Practice for the fight against dishonest competitors in the area of road transport which was approved in July of this year at the meeting of the committee for IRU links with CIS countries and will be submitted to the CIS Minister of Transport for approval at the meeting already referred to in Dushanbe in November of this year. I am sure that the very fact of accepting such a Declaration at a high international level could turn out to be a restraining influence on some particularly zealous officials who, pretending to be acting in national interests, actually create slush funds for their own bureaucrats to the detriment of the industry's interests.

Dear colleagues,

I would like to hope that our proposals will be heard and implemented in CIS countries. Removing barriers will simplify the lives of hauliers not only in CIS countries but also in neighbouring countries, will simplify transit conditions through CIS countries and in the long term will enable a land bridge to be constructed between Europe and Asia.

Thank you for your attention.

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