United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)

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United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe(UNECE)
Non-Physical Obstacles and Security Risks to
Transit Transport
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Structure of the Presentation

• Overview of non-physical obstacles and security
  risks to international transport
• Addressing obstacles and security risks to
  international transport
• The findings of the TEM and TER Master Plan
  Conclusions

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Non-Physical Obstacles and Security Risks to
International Transport (1)

• Long procedures and controls (delays, costs)
• Arbitrary, discriminatory and non cost-related
  transit taxes (deterrent for development of
  transport and trade, particularly for inexpensive
  commodities and landlocked countries)
• Heterogeneous transport regulations (road traffic
  rules, road signs, driving permits, etc.)

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Non-Physical Obstacles and Security Risks to
International Transport (2)

• Security risks
• Theft of vehicles, Attacks to drivers
• Attacks to key infrastructures
• Theft of dangerous substances
• Organized crime, International terrorism
• Illegal traffic of persons and/or goods

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Addressing Non-Physical Obstacles, Security Risks
to international transport

• UNECE Agreements Conventions facilitate
  transport while providing safety and security
• Legally binding
• Elaborated by consensus
• Follow well-established UN legal procedures

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Addressing Non-Physical Obstacles, Security Risks
to international transport

• To remove non-physical obstacles while providing
  security at borders
• TIR Convention, of 1975
• Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods

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Addressing Non-Physical Obstacles, Security Risks
to international transport

• To harmonize road traffic and improve safety
• Conventions on Road Traffic and on Road Signs and
  Signals, of 1968
• Work of Crews of Vehicles engaged in
  International Road Transport (AETR)

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Addressing Non-Physical Obstacles, Security Risks
to international transport

• For safety and security rules for the transport
  of dangerous goods
• Agreement on the International Carriage of
  Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR)

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Findings of the TEMTER Master Plan

• Separate examination for TEM and TER networks
• Inventory of border crossing points (1st Step)
• Identification of border problems (2nd Step)
• Separation of problems origins (3rd Step)
• Recommendations (4th Step)

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TEM Border Crossing Issues. Inventory by origin
(1)

• Infrastructure
• Unsuitable and insufficient capacity of border
  posts
• Obsolete and poor quality facilities
• Inadaquate equipment
• No separate lanes for transit traffic and empty
  vehicles
• Under-sized access roads to border posts and
  insufficient parking space at borders

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TEM Border Crossing Issues. Inventory by origin
(2)

• Procedures (1)
• Long and often over-complex procedures
• Insufficient computerization of control
  procedures
• Systematic control of all vehicles instead of
  risk
• management based techniques
• Complex and often contentious procedures for
  weighing
• Absence of non-stop veterinary and phytosanitary
  controls

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TEM Border Crossing Issues. Inventory by origin
(3)

• Procedures (2)
• Additional controls of doubtful necessity, such
  as radioactivity controls at some borders
• Lack of coordination between customs
  administrations of adjacent countries,
  insufficient exchange of information
• Insufficient cooperation between national
  authorities responsible for controls
• Non-compliance with TIR procedures

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TEM Border Crossing Issues. Inventory by origin
(4)

• Procedures (3)
• Failure to provide information to
  professionals-private sector
• Changes without notice of the procedures used
• Compulsory convoys of vehicles
• Imposition of compulsory pay services using
  "commercial" structures established at border
  crossing points
• Proliferation of taxes, duties and fees

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TEM Border Crossing Issues. Inventory by origin
(5)

• Staff
• Shortage of control personnel
• Low productivity
• Non-continuous working hours
• Lack of skills and training
• Lack of continuity in the management of controls
  due to a high level of staff rotation at all
  levels
• Inappropriate behavior of some officials

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TEM Border Crossing Recommendations for
Improvement (1)

• General remarks
• Simplification and harmonization - main target
• Focus in the implementation of UNECE agreements
• Anticipation of future growth in trade flows,
  investing in advance in improved infrastructure,
  procedures and training
• Close cooperation of governments to reduce border
  crossing problems, which are barriers to
  development

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TEM Border Crossing Recommendations for
Improvement (2)

• Infrastructure
• Improving facilities at borders
• Providing a sufficient number of queues and
  windows
• Improving access to border crossings by widening
  roads
• and creating additional lanes

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TEM Border Crossing Recommendations for
Improvement (3)

• Procedures (1)
• Introducing common customs posts and controls
  carried
• out jointly
• Transferring of control procedures to sites
  inside the country (especially for transit) or at
  the place of destination
• Introducing new, simplified control procedures
• Complying strictly with the provisions of the TIR
  Convention

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TEM Border Crossing Recommendations for
Improvement (4)

• Procedures (2)
• Simplification and harmonization of weighing
  procedures
• Improving coordination between customs
  authorities of neighboring countries
• Creating cooperation between national
  administrations
• Simplifying and, if possible, reducing of taxes,
  fees and duties charged at border crossings
• Facilitating the issuance of visas to
  professional drivers
• Improving communication with the private sector

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TEM Border Crossing Recommendations for
Improvement (5)

• Staff
• Increasing the number of personnel
• Failing 24/24 opening, alignment of border post
  opening times
• Training of control personnel
• Motivating of control officials
• Fighting against corruption

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TER Border Crossing Problems (1)

• Introduction
• The work is based
• - In the results of the permanent monitoring
  system developed under TER in the last 4 years
• - In follow up of developments and progress
  achieved in facilitation of rail border control
  in CEE
• - In close cooperation with UIC and the
  EC-Justice and Internal Affairs
• - In country inputs

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TER Border Crossing Problems (2)

• Lack of adequate technology for the handling
  trains at the border (disposition of
  locomotives-late arrival of staff-Insufficient
  coordination and management)
• Inadequate cooperation among those involved
• Lack or insufficient rules on relations between
  railway administrations and other institutions
  involved
• Insufficient information on flows and
  transmission of data
• Delays in completing the documents

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TER Border Crossing Problems (3)

• Lack of adequate technology for the handling
  trains at the border (disposition of
  locomotives-late arrival of staff-Insufficient
  coordination and management)
• Inadequate cooperation among those involved
• Lack or insufficient rules on relations between
  railway administrations and other institutions
  involved
• Insufficient information on flows and
  transmission of data
• Delays in completing the documents

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TER Border Recommendations (1)

• Establishment of Railway Working Groups on a
  bilateral and/or multilateral basis
• Better communication among those involved
• Adoption and implement the best practices
  developed in the field
• Border control procedures should be organized
  during the running train

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TER Border Recommendations (2)

• Transfer of non-railway procedures, including
  customs formalities to origin and destination
  stations
• For combined transport, transfer of all customs
  and border control operations, including
  veterinary or phytosanitary at the loading and
  unloading points
• Improvement of technical facilities on border
  points
• Introduction of performance indicators to monitor
  future progress on border crossing

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Conclusions (1)

• Non-physical obstacles and security risks to
  transit transport are challenging the economic
  development of Euro-Asian countries
• Implementation of internationally agreed
  measures and close cooperation among countries is
  needed

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Conclusions (2)

• UNECE legal instruments are the tools to address
  some of these problems
• The TEM and TER work could be used as a starting
  point for further actions

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Thank you
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