Institutional Assistance to the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine on legal and organisational issues for rail transpo...

EU-funded Twinning call EuropeAid seeks a Member State public administration or mandated body to provide institutional assistance to the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine on legal and organisational rail sector reform, covering market opening, safety, interoperability and passenger services. The contract is funded at €1,500,000 for a maximum duration of 30 months and will deliver legislative drafting, capacity building, trainings and operational advisory through a Project Leader, Resident Twinning Adviser, Component Leaders and short-term experts. Only EU Member State public administrations or mandated bodies may apply via their National Contact Points for Twinning and must include CVs for the PL, RTA and CLs. Proposals must be submitted to the Contracting Authority by 11 September 2026, 16:30 Brussels time.

Call type and reference

Twinning grant EuropeAid/186770/DD/ACT/UA

What it funds:Twinning institutional assistance to the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine to support legal and organisational reform of the rail sector (market opening, safety, interoperability, passenger services, PSO). Expected activities include drafting by-laws, concordance with EU acquis, capacity building, trainings and study visits.

Who may apply:Only public administrations and mandated bodies from EU Member States applying through their Member State National Contact Points for Twinning.

1. 1Total EU budget: €1,500,000
2. 2Maximum project duration: 30 months
3. 3Beneficiary: Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine (MDCT)
4. 4Implementation model: Twinning contract with Project Leader, Resident Twinning Adviser, Component Leaders and short-term experts

Selection and format:proposals submitted by a single Lead Member State administration (one proposal per Member State). Assessment covers operational capacity (PL, RTA, Component Leaders), methodology and relevance; scoring and formal eligibility grids apply.

How to apply and documents:full Twinning fiche, publication notice and annexes are available on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal; submission must follow Twinning Manual templates and be sent via Member State National Contact Point EU Funding & Tenders Portal ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Call documents (Twinning fiche, publication notice, annexes) and detailed application instructions are provided on the opportunity page and in the Twinning Manual available through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

Opportunity summary and administrative data

Title:Institutional Assistance to the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine on legal and organisational issues for rail transport reform in Ukraine. Call identifier: EuropeAid. Reference: 186770PROSPECTSEN. Programme: Technical Cooperation Facility for Ukraine 2024 (UAFacility/2024/ACT-62766). Instrument: Twinning. Beneficiary administration: Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine (MDCT). Geographic area: Ukraine. Contract type: Twinning Contract. Duration: 30 months. EU funded budget: €1,500,000. Deadline for submission (to Contracting Authority via Member State National Contact Points for Twinning): 11 September 2026, 16:30 Brussels time (17:30 Kyiv time). Provisional notification date of award results: 15 October 2026. Start date (publication): 28 May 2026.

Primary documents and where to find them:The Twinning Fiche, Publication Notice and Annexes (C6, C7) provide the project description, eligibility rules, evaluation grids and administrative templates. Full documentation is published by the European Commission and can be accessed via the opportunity page and the Twinning Fiche document Twinning Fiche Publication Notice Annex C6 Annex C7 ¹.

Detailed description of the project objectives and components

Overall objective:Support and strengthen Ukraine's railway transport sector reform in line with EU acquis requirements, including legal and institutional alignment, capacity building of the Ministry and related institutions, and preparation for market opening and TEN-T integration. Specific objectives: 1) Advance legal framework enabling market opening and competition in rail; 2) Enhance MDCT capacity to organise preparation of entities for market opening, ensure alignment with European norms and TEN-T integration; 3) Build legal and administrative bases for appropriate public service obligations and quality passenger transport.

Project components and expected results

The Twinning project is organised into three components. Activities include drafting legislation and by-laws, compliance checks and concordance tables with EU acquis, methodologies, trainings, study visits, and hands-on advisory work. Final activity list and sequencing will be refined with the selected Member State partner and captured in the initial and rolling work plans.

1. 1Component 1 Institutional support for market opening: results include drafting equal access rules and allocation procedures for infrastructure capacity, coordination mechanisms between market actors, a Model Draft Network Statement, recommendations for sustainable infrastructure maintenance financing and contractual parameters, and a new system for training, examination and licensing of train drivers (including authorisation of training and examination centres).
2. 2Component 2 Institutional support for safety and interoperability: results include by-laws for safety certification, authorisation, monitoring and supervision; procedures for technical accident investigation and risk assessment; legal prerequisites and by-laws for technical harmonisation and vehicle/infrastructure authorisation including introduction of TSIs; framework for establishment of rolling stock maintenance system and related entity-in-charge rules; trainings for Ministry, state bodies, Ukrzaliznytsia and business stakeholders.
3. 3Component 3 Institutional support for passenger transport and PSO: results include legal and administrative pre-requisites for Public Service Obligation implementation (Regulation 1370/2007), methodology for PSO tendering and compensation controls, definition and legal drafting for passenger rights (Regulation 2021/782), and a roadmap for servicing passengers with reduced mobility.

Union acquis and standards referenced

The project explicitly lists the EU legal acts and technical regulations to be transposed or considered in drafting and compliance checks: Directive 2012/34/EU and amendments (rail market), Directive (EU) 2016/797 (interoperability) and multiple Implementing Regulations and TSIs, Directive (EU) 2016/798 (safety) and associated Common Safety Methods and Implementing Regulations, Directive 2007/59/EC on train driver certification and related Commission measures, Regulation (EC) No 1370/2007 on public passenger transport services, Regulation (EU) 2021/782 on rail passengers' rights, and numerous Commission implementing and delegated acts and technical specifications listed in the Twinning Fiche.

Who can apply and how

This is a Twinning Call. Only Public Administrations and mandated bodies from EU Member States may apply. Applications are submitted by Member State administrations through their National Contact Points for Twinning to the Contracting Authority (EU Delegation/PAO). A Member State may submit only one Twinning proposal for this project. The Member State submission must include the CVs of the Project Leader (PL), Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) and Component Leaders and comply with the Twinning Manual and templates.

1. 1Applicant type: Only EU Member State public administrations or mandated bodies acting via National Contact Points for Twinning.
2. 2Submission route: Member State National Contact Point to Contracting Authority email address following Twinning Manual templates.
3. 3Deadline: 11 September 2026, 16:30 Brussels time (17:30 Kyiv time). Late submissions will not be considered.

Profiles, team composition and implementation modality

Twinning implementation requires a Member State administration to provide one Project Leader (PL), one Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) placed in the beneficiary administration, Component Leaders and a pool of Short-Term Experts (STEs). The team must cover legal drafting, regulatory reform, safety, interoperability, PSO, passenger rights and capacity building. The RTA is a long-term advisor managing day-to-day activities and coordination; the PL ensures overall coordination and backstopping from the Member State administration. The project is expected to use a hybrid implementation mode (combining remote and in-country work) for security reasons, with allowances for remote work and videoconferencing; in case of changes in security the mode may shift to standard offline implementation.

1. 1Key MS inputs required: Project Leader (strategic coordination), Resident Twinning Adviser (day-to-day delivery), Component Leaders, Short-Term Experts, assistant and translator(s).
2. 2Essential skills for PL/RTA/CL/STE: university degree in law, public/business administration, transport engineering or economics or equivalent experience; minimum years of sector experience; demonstrated track record in legislative approximation to EU rail acquis; fluent English; Ukrainian language skills are an asset for some roles.
3. 3Counterparts in beneficiary: MDCT Department for Railway Transport staff, Head of Rail Transport Department and identified officials who will act as PL and RTA counterparts.

Budget, duration and reporting

Total EU budget allocated for this Twinning project:€1,500,000. Maximum project duration: 30 months. Reporting: interim quarterly reports for Project Steering Committee review and a final report; all reports must include narrative and financial sections. Contract language and reporting language: English. Monitoring: EU Delegation to Ukraine together with the Twinning Programme Administration Office (PAO) will monitor quality, compliance and financial management.

Contracting and contact points:Person in charge at EU Delegation to Ukraine: Ms. Kornelija VASAUSKAITĖ, Project Manager, Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine. Email: kornelija.vasauskaite@eeas.europa.eu. PAO contact: Twinning Programme Administration Office (PAO), National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service, Kyiv. Beneficiary contact: Ms. Svitlana Zabolotska, Head of the Rail Transport Department, MDCT, e-mail zabolotska@mtu.gov.ua. RTA counterpart contact: Mr. Oleksandr Fedorenko, Head of the Rail Transport Department, fedorenko@miu.gov.ua.

Selection, evaluation and award

Selection and award criteria follow the Twinning Manual. Administrative compliance checks will be performed first (completeness, CVs for PL/RTA/CL, NCP contact details, submission source). Selection criteria consider operational capacity (quality of PL, RTA, Component Leaders and MS administration), relevance, methodology, and sustainability. Award scoring uses 1 to 5 ratings across sub-criteria with thresholds specified in the Twinning Manual; a single negative evaluation on an operational eligibility criterion disqualifies the proposal. The Member State delegation presenting to the evaluation committee should include the proposed PL and RTA(s). Tentative start of evaluation committee meetings: 22 September 2026. The full administrative and evaluation grids are provided in Annex C6 and C7 of the documentation.

1. 1Administrative checks: completeness and correct format, inclusion of CVs, contact details, submission from NCP email address.
2. 2Operational selection: eligibility of PL/RTA/CL and Member State administration, project duration limits.
3. 3Award evaluation: methodology quality, operational capacity, relevance, sustainability, and fit with Twinning Fiche mandatory outputs.

Eligibility and categorisation answers (structured)

Below are the requested categorisation answers extracted precisely from the Twinning Call and Twinning Fiche documents.

Eligible Applicant Types:Only public administrations and mandated bodies of EU Member States may apply through their National Contact Points for Twinning. The call is reserved for Member State administrations (lead administration plus optional junior Member State partners). National public administrations and other bodies formally mandated by them (as defined by the Twinning Manual) are eligible. Private sector entities, NGOs, universities or SMEs cannot apply directly under this Twinning call.

Funding Type:This opportunity is implemented through a Twinning grant contract under the EU Technical Cooperation Facility for Ukraine. The financial mechanism is a grant (Twinning contract), financed directly by the EU Delegation/Facility.

Consortium Requirement:The Twinning modality requires a Member State administration as lead applicant. A consortium of Member State administrations is possible (lead Member State with junior Member States), but the application must be submitted by the lead Member State National Contact Point. Only one Twinning proposal per Member State may be submitted. Therefore the requirement is: single lead Member State administration (optionally supported by junior Member State partners).

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility):Geographic eligibility for applicants: Member State public administrations (EU Member States). Beneficiary geographic scope: Ukraine (project activities implemented in Ukraine). The call is part of Technical Cooperation Facility for Ukraine and addresses public administration reform in the beneficiary country. International or non-EU applicants are not eligible to submit; only EU Member State administrations may apply.

Target Sector:Primary thematic sector: Transport, specifically Rail transport reform, safety, interoperability and passenger services. Secondary cross-cutting themes: public administration reform, regulatory approximation to EU acquis, infrastructure policy, accessibility, and capacity building.

Mentioned Countries:Explicitly mentioned country: Ukraine. Applicant countries required: EU Member States (as potential applicants). Neighboring countries referenced in context of connections: Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary. The EU as a region is referenced for acquis and Member State partners. TEN-T corridors extended to Ukraine are mentioned (no other third countries are required as applicants).

Project Stage:Expected project maturity: policy and legal reform, institutional capacity building, and preparatory activities for implementation. Target stages: research and drafting (legal analysis and concordance), development (drafting of by-laws and methodologies), validation and demonstration (trainings, study visits and piloting procedures), and preparation for implementation and enforcement. The project supports transition from legislative drafting to practical implementation.

Funding Amount:Total EU budget available for the call: €1,500,000 (one million five hundred thousand euros) to cover the Twinning contract for a maximum of 30 months.

Application Type:Open competitive call among Member State administrations via the Twinning Manual process. Submission is through Member State National Contact Points for Twinning; only one proposal per Member State is permitted. This is an open call to Member State administrations (not invitation-only), but only those administrations may participate.

Nature of Support:Beneficiaries receive financial support in the form of an EU-funded Twinning grant contract to the selected Member State administration, which will mobilise experts and deliver advisory, technical and capacity-building services to the Ministry in Ukraine. The support is a combination of monetary funding for the Twinning contract (to the implementing Member State body) and extensive non-monetary technical assistance (experts, training, study visits, drafting and institutional advisory).

Application Stages:Key application and selection stages: 1) Administrative compliance check of Member State proposals (formal eligibility). 2) Evaluation of substantive proposal by selection committee (operational capacity, relevance, methodology, sustainability using scoring grids). 3) Selection meeting and notification to Member State. 4) Contract negotiation and signature leading to implementation. The Twinning Manual indicates the selection process includes written evaluation and presentation stages. Thus applicants should expect 3 main procedural stages from submission to award.

Success Rates:The Twinning Call does not publish an explicit historical success rate. Success likelihood depends on the number of Member State submissions (unknown) and the quality of the proposed methodology and team. Twinning calls are competitive among Member State administrations; selection is based on qualitative scoring and eligibility requirements. No numerical success rate is provided in the call documentation.

Co-funding Requirement:No explicit co-funding by the beneficiary administration or Member State implementing administration is required in the Twinning call text. The Twinning contract budget covers the costs of experts, RTA, short-term experts, assistants, translation and related project costs. Member State applicants should follow Twinning Manual rules on cost sharing and in-kind contributions as applicable; the call does not state a mandatory financial contribution from the beneficiary.

Application templates and form structure guidance

Twinning proposals must follow the Twinning Manual templates and include the requested administrative and technical information. The call references Annex C6 (Administrative compliance and eligibility grid) and Annex C7 (Evaluation grid) which set out required documentation and the scoring approach. Required documents and structure include:

1. 1Cover letter and identification data (publication number, Twinning fiche number, lead Member State contact details and NCP details).
2. 2Technical proposal describing strategy, methodology, sequencing, indicative timetable and administrative model. It must be concise, focused and demonstrate how mandatory outputs will be achieved.
3. 3Team composition and CVs for Project Leader (PL), Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA) and Component Leaders (CLs). CVs must demonstrate required qualifications and experience as specified in the Twinning Fiche.
4. 4Description of operational capacity of the lead administration and any junior Member State partners (organizational capacity, previous cooperation projects and ability to handle project budget).
5. 5Indicative list of short-term experts and their fields of expertise, and an overview of logistics and backstopping arrangements.
6. 6Compliance and eligibility checklist completed as per Annex C6 and administrative templates from the Twinning Manual.
7. 7Any required declarations and formal statements requested by the Twinning Manual (e.g., single proposal per Member State certification).

Member State proposals should not attempt to provide a fully elaborated project plan but must include sufficient detail on strategy, methodology, sequencing and indicative activities. The Member State should present an organisational chart for implementing the Twinning contract and the proposed PL and RTA roles and commitments. The PL and RTA CVs are critical elements in the evaluation and must demonstrate sectoral and managerial experience.

Performance indicators, risks and sustainability

The Twinning Fiche contains a Simplified Logical Framework with performance indicators and targets tied to each result. Examples include availability of draft legal documents and procedures, the Model Draft Network Statement, number of trainings and trained staff, legal pre-requisites for interoperability and maintenance frameworks, availability of PSO methodology and passenger rights legal acts, and a roadmap for passengers with reduced mobility. Key risks noted: ongoing military aggression, changes in beneficiary governance, insufficient human/financial resources, low stakeholder engagement, and budgetary decisions. Sustainability measures emphasise train-the-trainers, embedding materials and procedures in beneficiary administration, dissemination and a final seminar showcasing results.

Summary: What this opportunity is about and how to explain it

This is an EU-funded Twinning call with €1.5 million allocated to support legal, regulatory and institutional reform of Ukraine's rail sector. The project will deploy Member State public administration expertise (Project Leader, Resident Twinning Adviser, Component Leaders and Short-Term Experts) to work with the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine and other national stakeholders to draft EU-compliant laws and by-laws, develop administrative procedures for market opening, safety and interoperability, prepare frameworks for PSO and passenger rights, and build the Ministry's capacity to oversee and implement the reforms. The action is part of the Technical Cooperation Facility for Ukraine and aligns with Ukraine's commitments under the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, accession negotiation obligations and TEN-T integration. The call is open only to EU Member State public administrations acting through their National Contact Points for Twinning and requires submission following the Twinning Manual templates by 11 September 2026. The selection is qualitative, based on operational capacity, methodology, relevance and sustainability, and the winning Member State will implement the Twinning contract in cooperation with the beneficiary administration, delivering legislative drafting, trainings, study visits, and practical advisory support over 30 months.

For full technical requirements, annexes, eligibility grids and evaluation templates consult the Twinning Fiche and the Publication Notice available from the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and the document links provided above ¹.

Footnotes

1. 1Twinning Fiche and associated annexes published on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal: Twinning Fiche: webgate.ec.europa.eu; Publication Notice: webgate.ec.europa.eu; Annex C6: webgate.ec.europa.eu; Annex C7: webgate.ec.europa.eu.

Project Overview and Objectives

This Twinning project aims to support and strengthen Ukraine’s railway transport sector reform in line with EU acquis requirements, specifically focusing on legal and organisational issues for rail market opening, safety, interoperability, and passenger transport ¹. The overall objective is to advance the legal framework enabling Ukraine’s railway market opening for competition and to enhance the capacity of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine (MDCT) ².

Key Strategic Goals:1. Advance the legal framework for market opening for competition. 2. Enhance MDCT capacity for preparing entities for market opening. 3. Build legal grounds for Public Service Obligations (PSO) and passenger transport ³.

Who Can Apply (Eligibility)

Only Public Administrations and Mandated bodies from European Union Member States may apply. Applications must be submitted through the National Contact Points (NCP) for Twinning of the respective Member State ⁴. Private companies, NGOs, and Ukrainian entities cannot apply directly; they must partner with an eligible EU Member State administration ⁵.

1. 1Must be a Public Administration of an EU Member State
2. 2Must be a Mandated body registered under the EU Twinning Manual
3. 3Must submit via the Member State's National Contact Point for Twinning
4. 4Must include CVs for Project Leader (PL), Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA), and Component Leaders (CL)

Funding Details and Budget

Project Components and Expected Results

The project is structured into three mandatory components, each with specific results to be achieved through drafting legislation, training, and consulting ⁶.

Component 1: Competitive Market of Railway Services:Focuses on drafting rules for equal access to infrastructure, coordination between market actors, a Model Draft of Network Statement, infrastructure maintenance recommendations, and a new system for train driver licensing and certification ⁷.

Component 2: Railway Safety and Interoperability:Targets drafting rules for safety certification, authorization, and supervision; conditions for technical harmonisation (interoperability); a framework for rolling stock maintenance; and training on railway safety issues ⁸.

Component 3: Quality Passenger Transportation:Establishes pre-requisites for Public Service Obligations (PSO), defines passenger rights in legal acts, and develops a roadmap for servicing passengers with reduced mobility ⁹.

Deadlines and Application Process

The deadline for submission of Twinning proposals by National Contact Points to the Contracting Authority is **11 September 2026, 16:30 Brussels time** (17:30 Kyiv time) ¹⁰. Proposals must be concise, focused on strategy and methodology, and include an indicative timetable ¹¹.

1. 1Opening Date: 28 May 2026
2. 2Deadline: 11 September 2026, 16:30 Brussels time
3. 3Expected Notification of Results: 15 October 2026
4. 4Evaluation Committee Meetings: Tentatively 22 September 2026

Key Requirements for Applicants

Applicants must demonstrate operational capacity, particularly of the proposed Project Leader (PL), Resident Twinning Adviser (RTA), and Component Leaders (CL) ¹². The PL must have a university degree in law, public administration, or transport engineering with at least 3 years of specific railway transport management experience ¹³. The RTA must have similar qualifications and experience in project management or training ¹⁴.

Expert Profiles Required:PL: 8 years professional experience, 3 years specific railway experience. RTA: 8 years professional experience, 3 years railway experience. Component Leaders: 8 years professional experience, 3 years railway experience including legislation drafting ¹⁵.

Beneficiary and Stakeholders

The main beneficiary is the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine (MDCT), specifically its Department for Railway Transport ¹⁶. Other key stakeholders include the State Service of Ukraine on Transport Safety (UkrTransBezpeka), Ministry of Finance, JSC 'Ukrzaliznytsia', and the Antimonopoly Committee ¹⁷.

Implementation and Sustainability

The project will be implemented in a 'hybrid' mode (combining online and offline events) due to security reasons, with experts potentially working from their home countries via videoconferencing ¹⁸. Sustainability is ensured by training beneficiary personnel, using a 'train the trainers' approach, and ensuring that developed manuals and procedures are used beyond the contract period ¹⁹.

Footnotes

1. 1Twinning Fiche, Section 2.1 & 2.2: Overall and Specific Objectives.
2. 2Twinning Fiche, Section 2.2: Specific objectives 1-3.
3. 3Twinning Fiche, Section 3.5: Components and results per component.
4. 4Publication Notice, Section 5: Eligibility criteria.
5. 5Euro-Access Call Summary: Eligible entities and Mandatory partnership.
6. 6Twinning Fiche, Section 3.5: Components and results per component.
7. 7Twinning Fiche, Component 1: Results 1.1-1.5.
8. 8Twinning Fiche, Component 2: Results 2.1-2.4.
9. 9Twinning Fiche, Component 3: Results 3.1-3.3.
10. 10Publication Notice, Section 9: Deadline for applications.
11. 11Twinning Fiche, Section 3.6: Means/input from EU Member State Partner.
12. 12Evaluation Grid, Section 1: Operational capacity.
13. 13Twinning Fiche, Section 3.6.1: Profile and tasks of the PL.
14. 14Twinning Fiche, Section 3.6.2: Profile and tasks of the RTA.
15. 15Twinning Fiche, Sections 3.6.3 & 3.6.4: Profiles of Component Leaders and STEs.
16. 16Twinning Fiche, Section 5.2: Institutional framework.
17. 17Twinning Fiche, Section 5.2: Other stakeholders to be involved.
18. 18Twinning Fiche, Section 3.6: Implementation arrangements (hybrid mode).
19. 19Twinning Fiche, Section 8: Sustainability.