How the shift to EU standards will change the work of lorry drivers and what impact it will have
When discussing Ukraine’s integration into the EU internal market, we typically mention customs, tariffs or technical standards.
But there is a less visible factor that directly affects delivery costs and market functioning: the rules governing lorry drivers’ working hours. They determine how far a driver can actually travel, how routes are planned, how competition works and ultimately, how much it costs businesses and consumers to ship goods.
Read more about the reform of working conditions for truck drivers in the article by Iryna Kosse of the Institute for Economic Research and Policy Consulting: EU integration for lorry drivers: what will the transition to EU requirements mean for drivers.
Ukrainian hauliers operating internationally are already formally subject to international rules on driving time and rest periods.
The challenge, however, lies in enforcement and in new EU requirements that do not currently apply to Ukrainian hauliers under existing international rules.
International routes follow the AETR agreement – the European regional rules for driving time, breaks and rest. Their basic standards are very close to EU Regulation 561/2006, but AETR does not include several of the new EU requirements.
The biggest gap between Ukraine and the EU standard lies not in the numbers themselves, but in how compliance is ensured.
Control remains fragmented: different bodies inspect different aspects, but there is no clear allocation of authority, coordination or mandated minimum level of inspections comparable to European practice (the benchmark is 3% of drivers’ working days per year).
Tachographs, including digital ones, do exist, but their data is rarely used as a real enforcement tool.
In the EU, the working conditions of truck drivers are regulated by the Road Transport Regulation (No. 561/2006). Since 2024, changes related to the Mobility Package are gradually being implemented for hauliers and drivers.
Among these requirements: mandatory weekly rest of 45 hours must be taken in appropriate accommodation rather than in the vehicle cabin, and drivers must return to their base or place of residence at least once every four weeks.
The Mobility Package also introduces additional rules that strengthen this approach: the requirement for lorries to return to their country of registration every eight weeks, new smart tachograph standards and rules on remuneration based on the country where the work is actually performed.
The "transport visa-free regime," valid for Ukraine until March 2027, simplifies market access by removing permit requirements, but it does not replace internal EU social rules and enforcement standards.
The closer Ukraine gets to EU standards on working hours and real enforcement, the fewer grounds there will be for competition-related disputes and the easier it will be to preserve and expand liberalised market access.
Adopting EU rules for drivers means moving toward a more modern organisation of freight transport and more predictable logistics.
Yes, the market will face additional costs related to operations, personnel and infrastructure. But in return, road safety and predictability will improve, downtime and accident risks will decrease and competition will become more transparent.
This will ultimately mean fewer hidden costs for businesses and more stable logistics for the economy. It will bring the Ukrainian market closer to everyday EU practices and strengthen the chances that transport liberalisation will become long-term.