Russia’s war on Ukraine: Implications for EU transport

The unjustified Russian invasion of Ukraine has damaged transport infrastructure, caused major transport disruptions and led to a massive flow of refugees into the European Union and neighbouring countries. In response, the EU has adopted several sets of sanctions, leading to the closure of EU airspace to Russian aircraft, the closure of EU ports to Russian vessels, a ban on Russian transport operators and a ban on exports of goods and technology in the aviation, maritime and space sectors.

Designed to undermine Russia's economic and financial ability to sustain its war effort, the sanctions have also impacted on transport in the EU, leading to traffic shortages, supply chain bottlenecks and the need to bypass traditional routes, thereby lengthening journey times and increasing costs. In order to monitor and deal with these negative impacts and humanitarian crises, the EU has introduced measures to support traffic flows and supply chains, securing the swift and safe transfer of people trapped in war zones and the transfer of essential goods and commodities.

The European Commission has devised a dedicated contingency plan for transport to strengthen coordination in the event of emergencies. It introduces guiding principles for implementing crisis response measures, and contains a number of initiatives intended to remedy the difficulties encountered following the war. The European Parliament is meanwhile playing an active role by closely monitoring and evaluating the situation, including the EU action taken so far, while also proposing the adoption of additional EU measures to support passenger and freight traffic flows.

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This EPRS Briefing updates an At a Glance note published in March 2022, which can be found below under Related Links.