At BSEC-URTA’s 47th General Assembly, transport leaders and industry representatives highlighted the growing strategic importance of the Black Sea region as a key bridge connecting Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and the GCC region.

On 22 May 2026, Brent crude is trading at around USD 105 a barrel, down 4% from last week. Diesel pump prices have started to ease in several markets, but the European fiscal-cliff calendar is now densely packed into the last week of May and the first week of June. Here is the latest overview for the road transport sector.

IRU joined more than 3,000 transport researchers, policymakers, industry leaders and mobility stakeholders from over 60 countries at the 2026 Transport Research Arena (TRA) in Budapest, one of Europe’s largest events on transport research and innovation.

China is benefiting from a highly practical TIR use case: bonded cargo transport. By combining the tax and customs advantages of bonded zones with the speed, security and simplicity of TIR, Chinese cities are creating faster and more cost-effective overland routes to markets across Eurasia.

At the 12th World Free Zones Organization (WFZO) Congress in Panama City, IRU’s Secretary General warned that the era of single-route supply chains is over, urging free zones and governments to build trade corridors backed by agile, harmonised and digital frameworks.

The adoption of eCMR continues to gather momentum, with Albania having joined eCMR just a few weeks earlier.

The first eTIR transport operations between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan mark a major milestone for the digitalisation of international road transport in Central Asia.