Romania to receive €126 million from EU to support ports for Ukrainian exports

This was reported by the European Commission.

This decision will help facilitate Ukraine's trade in line with the objectives of the EU's Solidarity Lanes action plan.

"This €126 million scheme will allow Romania to reduce bottlenecks created by the sudden surge in goods arriving in the Danube and Black Sea coast ports. The aid will support port operators to process and store queuing goods, thereby reducing the blockade caused by Russia’s war against Ukraine. This will contribute to the EU Solidarity Lanes action plan without unduly distorting competition in the Single Market," said Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Vice-President for Competition Policy.

The assistance will take the form of grants up to €10 million to logistics companies active in Romanian maritime and inland ports located on: 

• the eastern border of the EU (Constanta, Galati, Giurgiu);
• the Danube - Black Sea Canal (Poarta Alba, Midia, and Navodari);
• the Sulina Canal or in the "satellite" ports of Constanța (Midia, and Mangalia).

The aid cannot exceed the lowest of the following amounts: €10 million per beneficiary, the funding gap, or 65% of the eligible costs of the project.

The report noted that Romania has informed the European Commission of its plans to support companies in its ports to invest in additional handling or warehousing capacity to handle goods that have been diverted from their trade routes due to the Russia-Ukraine war. The €126 million scheme will run until December 31, 2024.

• In September 2023, Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine and Minister of Community Development, Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine, announced that Ukraine would be able to export twice as much grain through the Romanian port.