BELGRADE – The Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community (TCT) organised a reception on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of entry into force of the Treaty establishing the Transport Community and the kick-off of the presidency of Serbia over the TCT Regional Steering Committee on Wednesday, 10 July. The event gathered government representatives, as well as representatives of the diplomatic corps in Serbia, international organisations, financial institutions, businesses, and other stakeholders.
“In the last five years, the Western Balkans and the Transport Community have both experienced a significant progress when it comes to transport and connectivity. We grew as an organisation, played a crucial role in assisting the contracting parties of the Transport Community Treaty in achieving their goals of transport integration into the European Union trough transposing the relevant EU standards as per the Treaty, but also through progress on major infrastructure project. We have also welcomed three new members to the Transport Community as observers, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia,” Director of the Transport Community Permanent Secretariat, Mr Matej Zakonjšek, pointed out.
Director-General for Mobility and Transport within the European Commission, Ms Magda Kopczyńska said: “As we mark the 5th anniversary of the Transport Community Treaty, we proudly reflect on five years of remarkable transport cooperation in the Western Balkans. This treaty has significantly enhanced connectivity, improved safety, and promoted sustainability in the region’s transport sector.”
“Serbia is proud to be a member of the Transport Community, which is a good regional framework for coordinating and planning transport projects. We will make a special contribution to start new additional processes and projects in the Transport Community in order to achieve what we want. I want to especially thank Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community, Matej Zakonjšek, who does his work with so much enthusiasm and love and tries to achieve the goal for which he has been appointed – which is to connect the entire region,” Minister of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure of Serbia, H.E. Mr Goran Vesić, pointed out.
Since the start of its operations, the Transport Community has produced the first edition of the Five-year rolling work plan for the indicative extension of the region’s Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T). It has published reports on the state of the TEN-T network in the Western Balkan and Reports on Action Plans and Acquis Implementation on a yearly basis. The Secretariat has also introduced digital tools to support these deliverables, such as the Western Balkan Road Safety Observatory and the Western Balkan Transport Observatory.
Together with partners from CEFTA, the organisation has made substantial progress on the extension of Green Lanes to the Western Balkans and the establishment of Green Lanes between European Union member states and regional partners, thus contributing to reduced waiting times at the borders within the region and between the region and the EU.
With the revision of the TEN-T extended network, aiming to better recognise the realities and ambitions of regional partners and significantly contribute to realising key connectivity projects in the Western Balkans, the Secretariat has played an important role in establishing the Western Balkans Eastern Mediterranean European Transport Corridor that integrates the entire region with neighbouring European Union member states.
During the last five years, the Secretariat has been working closely with partners in the Western Balkans and the EU to establish stronger connections among policy reforms, connectivity projects, and Secretariat’s assistance on making substantial steps towards transport market integration of the region to the European Union transport market.
