On 1 & 3 July 2025, our EaP RSO road safety technical experts travelled to Moldova and Armenia respectively to provide training to national practitioners on road safety audit mechanisms.

The theme of the training came at the request of country stakeholders each of whom are seeking to build on and improve their national practices around road safety audit.

Led EaP RSO experts Emma MacLennan and Egidijus Skrodenis, with presentations by MC Mobility Consultants’, Aivaras Vilkelis and Dovydas Skrodenis, the training provided an in-depth examination of the EU Directive EC 2008/96 on road infrastructure safety management and road safety impact assessments, with a special focus on road safety audits, road safety inspections, network safety assessments, and licensing schemes. 

It covered aspects of practical implementation, using examples from Lithuania and other countries, as well as guidance on audit stages, tools and equipment required for auditing, reporting procedures, and how to establish national auditor certification schemes.

Each session was attended by approximately 30 practitioners representing the Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Yerevan and Chisinau Municipalities, Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure (Armenia), Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development (Moldova), academia, and civil society. The training in Armenia was opened with welcoming remarks from H.E. Mr Vassilis Maragos, Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia and Christine Ghalechyan, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

In his opening, Mr Maragos, offered a reminder to participants on the importance of their roles, and why we keep working for safer roads:

“All the professionals who work in road safety are key contributors to the wellbeing of your society, to the economy of your country, and to every single person and every single family which has been affected by road crashes … We are preventing lives being lost. We are preventing people being injured. Your job is really important. You are the heroes. It’s not just a job among others.”

“The EU has been successful in reducing road crashes and fatalities. We are here to share this with Eastern Partnership countries. The Observatory plays a key role and this is why we have supported its establishment.”