Moldova and Montenegro joined the Common Transit Convention and the Convention on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods
On 1 November 2025, Moldova and Montenegro joined the Common Transit Convention and the Convention on the Simplification of Formalities in Trade in Goods.
This integration allows goods to move under a single transit procedure using the electronic NCTS system, which reduces border delays and costs for businesses.
The accession of both countries follows that of Georgia on 1 February 2025.
Montenegro becomes the latest West Balkan state to join the Conventions, reinforcing trade integration across the region. Moldova’s accession complements strategic work such as the solidarity lanes project to rehabilitate transport axes connecting Ukraine and Moldova to the EU, and contributing to trade in essential goods from and to Ukraine.
Benefits of this accession
The integration into both Conventions allows:
- businesses to benefit from:
- simplified procedures: a single electronic transit declaration (NCTS) and one guarantee for goods moving between Moldova, Montenegro, and other member countries (EU, EFTA, UK, Georgia, Ukraine, etc.).
- fewer border checks,
- lower costs and less waiting time for goods,
- improved customs controls through shared, digitized and trusted procedures and
- faster movement of goods
- to deepen economic integration with the EU for the Western Balkans and Eastern Partnership regions.
What business should do
Holders of comprehensive transit guarantees need to update their authorizations to cover Moldova and Montenegro as new countries where the guarantee is valid, and systems also shall also be updated with new country codes (MD for Moldova and ME for Montenegro) and other data elements to process transit operations involving these countries.
In this way, both countries become part of a broader European customs network to facilitate, streamline, and reduce the cost of cross-border trade between the EU and the EFTA countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland), Türkiye, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, the United Kingdom, Georgia and Ukraine.
This accession creates a seamless, digitally connected "single market" for transit goods, making trade across the continent more efficient and predictable for all involved.