Transport

On 14 October, from 15.00 to 17.00 the Office for a Democratic Belarus (ODB) will hold a presentation of the Concept ‘On harmonisation of Belarus' Legislation in the Area of Passengers' Transportation with the EU Norms and Standards'. The document is prepared in the frames of the ODB project "EU and Belarus: Sharing Knowledge".

The Concept was prepared by a group of Belarusian experts using expertise and knowledge provided to them through study visits, round-table discussions, regular meetings of the Permanent Working Group on transport, and international conferences in Belarus and abroad.

Especially valuable for the experts was the experience of Lithuania and Moldova where agreements on cooperation were signed between the Belarusian Union of Transport Workers (BUTW) and their local counterparts. The experience of the two in reforming their transport sector, as well as the main provisions of the European transport policy and legal mechanisms for its implementation in the field of integrated mobility are reflected in the Concept.

Tatsiana Manionak for the ODB (Translated from Russian)

It is very important for Belarus to learn from the European experience while implementing the National Transport Strategy. This would allow not only to increase the effectiveness of the Belarusian transport system but also raise social standards for the population. Recently, the EU has set a new target in the transportation area: to increase the level of complex mobility for citizens and simultaneously decrease  harmful emissions by 60 %.

This objective is equally relevant for Belarus. Until now the national policy has been oriented to the movement of a vehicle and not of a passenger. State policy in the area of complex mobility is not yet shaped properly in Belarus and the legislation that regulates the area reminds more of a 'patchwork' woven from regulatory provisions included into different legislative acts. Moreover, such notions as mobility of the population, accessibility of transport, public transport, route network, and other have received no official interpretation and are not part of the national legislation.

The Belarusian Union of Transport Workers (BUTW)  has made the first step to create a modern legislation in this area in Belarus. In the framework of the Project "EU and Belarus: Sharing Knowledge" during 2012-2013 the BUTW experts have been elaborating the Concept on developing complex mobility of the  population based on approximation of Belarusian legislation with the EU standards.

This work grew from the  successful cooperation of the BUTW with the Brussels-based Office for a Democratic Belarus (ODB). Since 2008, the ODB has been implementing the expertises exchange programme aimed at integration of the county into the European space through improving professional skills of Belarusian experts in different fields. The goal of this programme is to bring the European standards and best practices, as well as the experience of their implementation in other states of Eastern Partnership to Belarus.

Organisation of national public association "Belarusian Union of Transport Workers" (BUTW) is a "Club of those not indifferent" as its chairman Uladzimir Sasnousky and Valiantsina Liaonchyk his first deputy say. The members of this Club are chief executives, deputies of different levels, active and former local authorities as well as leading specialists and independent experts in various issues of transport industry.

By its 18th anniversary BUTW achieved a lot mostly counting on the enthusiasm of its members. For example, dozens of scientific and analytical researches on transport issues, constant monitoring of the current legislation and proposals for its improvement, conducting national and international conferences and seminars, printing books and manuals for the economic executives. Among them: "Contract Work" - a practical guide for companies performing road passengers transportations"(2011) and the second edition of the book "Public Transport in Belarus: State and Development Trends "(2012).

On 4 October, the Second National Conference, entitled “Public Transport in the Republic of Belarus: current state and perspectives of development ” took place in Minsk. The conference was held during the VI International Transport Congress on Transport and Logistics conducted by the Ministry of Transport and Communication. More than 80 delegates from all six regions of the country  including representatives of the  local  authorities, transport companies and vehicle manufacturers joined the conference.  The event was also attended by guests from Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Germany.

On September 24-27, representatives of the Belarusian Union of Transport Workers (BUTW) travelled to Vilnius on a study tour organised by the Brussels-based Office for a Democratic Belarus in cooperation with the Office for European Expertise and Communication (Minsk, Belarus) in the frames of the project “EU and Belarus: Sharing Knowledge”.  The Lithuanian National Road Carriers’ Association LINAVA hosted the event in Vilnius. The programme of the visit was designed to help the Belarusian experts get acquainted with the passenger transportation in three different sectors: state-run, public, and commercial. Belarusian specialists were particularly interested in the way transport networks are organised in Lithuania, new legislative acts that regulate transport domain after the country joined the EU, as well as the possibility to apply the experience of their Lithuanian colleagues in Belarus which aims at approximation with the EU  norms and standards in the area of transport and transit.

On April 9-13, the ODB organised a study tour for Belarusian specialists on transport issues to Chisinau (Moldova). The representatives of the Belarusian Union of Transport Workers had a chance to gain the experience from their Moldovan colleagues who succeeded in reforming the public transportation sector. During the visit Belarusian experts met with the leadership of Union of Transport and Road Workers of Moldova (UTWM), visited the Moldovan Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, International Association of Road Hauliers of Moldova «AITA» and its educational centre, a number of bus stations and bus parks of Chisinau.

On February 4, the Office for a Democratic Belarus, in close cooperation with the EU Delegation in Minsk, the Belarusian Institute for Strategic Studies (BISS) and with financial support of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), organized a round table discussion on “EU and Belarus transport policy: sharing knowledge”. The event took place in Minsk and brought together experts from the European Commission, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Academy of Science of the Republic of Belarus, various research institutions, entrepreneurs, representatives of the analytical community, independent and state media agencies. The event was also attended by the former Minister of Transport, Uladzimir Sasnouski.

On the invitation of the Office for a Democratic Belarus in Brussels, Belgium and the Foundation for Legal Technologies Development (Ukraine), a group of Belarusian experts on Transport and Transit visited Brussels on September 29 – October 2, 2009. The Belarusian delegation, which included representatives from government institutions, media and research group, took part in a training course “EU Transport Policy: Sharing Knowledge with Belarus”.