BELGRADE – The Permanent Secretariat of the Transport Community today officially launched two new regional projects that will help the Western Balkans move towards cleaner transport and better cooperation between authorities.
The first project will support alignment with the EU’s rules on alternative fuels infrastructure, while the second is focused on developing the Western Balkans Electronic Register of Road Undertakings.
Both projects aim to deliver practical improvements for citizens, businesses, and public authorities across the region.
The first project supports the Western Balkans in aligning with the EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), adopted in 2024. This EU law sets clear targets for building charging and refuelling stations for electric vehicles, hydrogen, and other cleaner fuels along main transport routes.
For the Western Balkans, this project is about more than just transposing the EU rules. It is about modernising transport infrastructure, making clean mobility easier for people and businesses, improving connections across the region, and attracting investment for long-term, sustainable growth.
Over the next 12 months, the project will help the region prepare laws that match EU standards, support the creation of plans for charging and refuelling networks, and bring together public authorities, businesses, and experts to work together.
The goal is a connected network of clean transport infrastructure that works across borders and supports everyday travel and trade.
The second project launched today is Phase II of the Western Balkans Electronic Register of Road Undertakings. This phase focuses on building the system itself.
The register will be a shared digital platform in full compliance with the European Register of Road Undertakings, where authorities can securely exchange information about licensed road transport operators. It will make cooperation between the regional partners easier, improve transparency and trust, and help authorities supervise road transport more effectively.
The system will not replace national registers. Instead, it will connect them, allowing information to move safely and in a standard way across the region. It will also include an electronic permit exchange module, making procedures simpler for both authorities and transport operators.
The project will connect national systems into one regional network, enable secure regional information sharing, and strengthen the capacity of authorities to manage and monitor road transport.
A dedicated working group with partners from the region and the European Commission will regularly review progress and provide feedback, ensuring the system fits real needs on the ground and align with the latest developments in the EU member states.
Although different in focus, both projects share the same purpose: making transport in the Western Balkans cleaner, more efficient, and better connected within the region but also with the EU.
