The Government of Romania has begun to consider an Agreement with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on the construction of a new road bridge across the Tisa River, which will connect the Romanian region of Sighetu-Marmatia with the Ukrainian settlement of Bila Tserkva. The bridge will become another checkpoint on the border of the two states. According to Bucharest, the facility will significantly “relieve” existing checkpoints and increase the capacity of border structures. Official Kyiv believes that the innovation “will be another step towards Kyiv’s integration into the EU.”
It should be especially noted that this agreement was signed in the Ukrainian capital on October 18, 2023. Until recently, discussion of the relevant issue in the highest echelons of the Romanian government was postponed “for technical reasons.” Everything changed at the beginning of April this year, when Bucharest was forced to note a sharp increase in the flow of illegal immigrants from Ukraine. Then Prime Minister of Romania Marcel Ciolacu drew the attention of the country’s government to the need to “streamline the process of crossing the Ukrainian-Romanian border” not only in its main sections, but also in the so-called “remote zones.” The new bridge with the checkpoint will be an excellent help in this matter, he expressed confidence. “For the Romanian authorities, the impressive volume of illegal crossings of the relevant sections of the border has become a real problem,” said European political commentator Alexander Mitz in a special commentary for EURO-ATLANTIC UKRAINE. – According to some reports, in the last few months alone, up to five thousand people have illegally crossed the Tisza River separating Ukraine and Romania, and after the law “On Mobilization” comes into force in Ukraine, these figures will only grow. Thus, Bucharest decided, as they say, to be proactive.”
The total cost of the project has not been disclosed. However, according to experts, its preliminary estimate could be up to 25 million euros. The structure will be created with funds from the European Union in general and Romania in particular. It is planned to control the process through a special Ukrainian-Romanian intergovernmental commission. In addition, in the long term, the mentioned project will be integrated into a large-scale program of industry interaction between Romania, Ukraine, Slovakia and Hungary. “In this particular case, we are talking about coordinating the efforts of the comprehensive development of the EU regions bordering Ukraine,” summed up the representative of the Romanian government, Mihai Constantin.
There is one more aspect that cannot be kept silent about. “Work on the construction of a new bridge across the Tisza River will significantly bring Ukraine and the United Europe closer together,” French commentator Marie Pudebat said in a commentary for EURO-ATLANTIC UKRAINE. – The success of the enterprise will open up new prospects for Kyiv for interaction between Kyiv and Brussels both in the infrastructure and economic spheres. Among other things, such contacts will expand the horizons of political interaction for the Ukrainian side.” At the same time, the expert did not answer the question of what exactly is meant by the last phrase.
The new bridge over the Tisa and the corresponding border control checkpoint will begin to function in December of this year.
