In September 2022 the Project “Northern Dimension Partnership goes Real Time Economy” has been launched, which gathered partners from Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. Consortium led by INFOBALT, Association of DigiTech companies, is selected to implement a project to identify and propose solutions to the legal and ICT infrastructure challenges surrounding the implementation and use of the standardised digital version of the international consignment notes (the e-CMR protocol) as well as Electronic freight transport information (eFTI).
The Project aims to identify and propose solutions for the legal and ICT infrastructure challenges, including transboundary compatibility, of the participating NDPTL partners in enabling and mainstreaming digital exchange of the standardised consignment note document as agreed in the e-CMR protocol of the 1956 UNECE Convention on the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Road (CMR Convention). Via outreach and dissemination activities, the Project will also highlight the advantages of eCMR in general as well as bring attention to the NDPTL work on eCMR. Moreover, the Project will facilitate linkages between Nordic-Baltic, pan-Baltic and national digital initiatives by providing concrete eCMR as well as eFTI solutions further in the region and pave the way for collaboration between industry and governmental agencies. The Project will ensure the compatibility between the digital tools implementing eFTI and eCMR and contribute to the EU’s collaboration with partner countries by facilitating knowledge sharing and trust-building with non-EU countries, including Norway and as decided during project implementation. Russia and Belarus will not participate in this project.
One of the main aims of the project is to perform a study on eCMR readiness, implementation roadmap and declaration, furthermore, regularly participating in outreach activities and dissemination activities. In addition to that, analysis of technical possibilities for use of the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) with eCMR. Further development of the existing eCMR prototype within projects Diginno, DinnoCap and DinnoProto will be proceeded. New functionalities will be added and updated as well as more user-friendly GUI, EBSI and SSI integration will be developed. The updated prototype will be piloted within NDPTL countries (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia).
Dissemination of the information about the benefits of using eCMR for businesses and governments, a Hackathon with NDPTL branding for young teams and startups to create B2B solutions using the eCMR pilot version will be organised. Dissemination of the project results and NDPTL work on eCMR at large including-writing articles, press releases and other media content. A dedicated panel on branded project “NDPTL goes real time economy” will take place at the International Innovation Transport Forum on the 20th October 2022. This international live and online event will discuss and present solutions for the legal and ICT infrastructure challenges, including transboundary compatibility, enabling, and mainstreaming eCMR document exchange within, and beyond the NDPTL region.
INFOBALT has involved 9 Project Partners, which are Transport Innovation Association, DigiLogistika Keskus, LIKTA, KiGEIT, Aalbor, Latvian Ministry, Estonian Ministry, to implement the Project. The Project is financed by NDPTL Secretariat and NIB (Northern Investment Bank). The Project will conclude activities by the 1st July 2023.