site.btaRomania Seeks Compensations For Carriers' Losses For Being Kept Out of Schengen

Romania will seek compensations for losses incurred by road carriers due to the fact that the country has not allowed into the Schengen area, Romanian Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said in an interview on News.ro. The financial damage to the sector will amount to 2% of the GDP.

Answering a question as to how he estimated the losses, the minister said: "My colleagues and I held talks with the carriers last week. It is hard for me to make precise calculations about taxes and time wasted at customs, but it is clear that border controls affect the international transport of goods."

Grindeanu said that Romania will seek from the European Commission EUR 2 billion in compensations to cover the costs associated with the transit of grain from Ukraine. The money will be used for maintenance of the national roads that have been affected by heavy truck traffic from Ukraine. "If you take the national road DN2 to Suceava, Siret, past Bacau and Focșani, you will see almost exclusively Ukrainian trucks. This has led to the deterioration of the road network, so this is why we have asked for funding. The money will cover several areas of transport, including road, rail, and sea transport."