The fight against illegal passenger transportation was discussed in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pavel Filip in the evening of April 25. The Premier said the passenger carriers should work based on authorization/license and should pay taxes to the state. The fines should be heavy as the rules and laws must be obeyed, IPN reports.

The Prime Minister underlined the importance of applying mechanisms known at international level for identifying authorized transport, such as the allotment of yellow license plates for authorized transport, imposition of harsher penalties for illegal entrepreneurial activities and adoption of transparent regulations in the field so that there are no administrative barriers to the legalization of businesses.

As to the illegal transportation of passengers in international traffic, the Premier said the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, the Customs Service and the Border Police should cooperate so as to ensure a permanent exchange of information that would facilitate the identification of carriers working illegally. Pavel Filip instructed to create a working group that would propose solutions to the existing problems.

There was also discussed the draft plan of action for combating illicit transportation for 2017-2020. This was worked out by the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure and the National Auto Transport Agency. “We must fight this phenomenon in a correct way that will be agreed concertedly. Our approach should be intelligent so that we institute a system with clear, transparent rules and monitoring based on risk management,” concluded the Premier.

As a result of discussions, it was agreed that the plan of action will be discussed on the platform of the Ministry of Economy with the participation of all the interested sides.