FIATA In South East Europe

     In 1961 I was just 9 years old. Yet I did witness with anticipation the progress in building the biggest construction in the world at that time in Turin, as part of the celebrations for the centennial of the creation of the kingdom of Italy. The structure was built 1959-1960: everything worked as clockwork then, so it was complete for its inauguration. Nobody is sure about the record now, but my family had an albeit small part in the celebrations: my grandfather, a well-known tailor, supplied all the uniforms and regalia for the parade during the opening ceremony.
     You may be wondering why am I saying this. Here we go: memories came rumbling back to me while reaching the FIATA Region Europe conference in Bucharest. I was looking at the building facing the venue, the Parliament House in Bucharest, another long-standing ‘largest building in the world’, so that is how my mind walked backwards to 1961. No longer the biggest today, Rumanians still claim it is the heaviest building in the world and that can be said in more than one meaning, in particular from a historical point of view. It is anyway a stunning sight, conceived and executed by Nicolae Ceausescu at the end of his permanent status in the country. The building and the close-by gigantic cathedral were part of the excursions of the last day of my Bucharest conference, both well worth a visit.
     I was invited to Bucharest by Marius Cae, USER’s President, to attend the combined FIATA REU and SEEFF meeting on May 18th.  During the Gala Dinner Marius, visibly moved, was recognized for his work in favour of Romanian freight forwarding community for several decades. The meeting had started in the morning with big smiles and hugs and even a little humour: a small blunder on one of the leaflets I was handed on arrival. I read ‘option is our business’ instead of ‘motion is our business’. From some points of view, this mix-up was a good summary of the first day of meetings: there were options to choose from and different solutions and issues being analyzed, an abundance of options indeed. At the end of the day it is always a question of options, also in drafting your logistics contracts, as one of the expert speakers remarked at one point of the busy morning.
     Let us start from the beginning then and get a bit more into the details of what happened in Romania. This will be a long story, so it will be chopped in two pieces and our readers should know. Iuliana Badea, Secretary General of USER, the host federation, and Diana Cristescu, Project Manager, introduced the programme, noting that this was the first time in over twenty years that the gathering took place in Romania. The participation was remarkable, with an attendance of more than 180 participants from 22 countries. The tireless zeal of the organizers explains the handsome achievement, because – as we heard in the promotional film about Romania – “Romania never sleeps and never tires . . . ” Precisely, it was intense, well attended, well informed and yet slightly informal.

     As usual, the sequence of high level Chairpersons also commanded attention: Thomas Sim, President of FIATA, Marius Cae, President of USER, Ivan Petrov, President of the SEEFF group and Antonella Straulino, Chair of FIATA’s REU all concurred to create a grandiose opening. Thomas Sim, speaking on behalf of FIATA, the largest transport related federation in the world, noted that “freight forwarders and logistics providers are becoming architects of supply chain stability”, thus pushing the concept of ‘architects of the supply chain’ one step farther. While “Eastern Europe is becoming a strategic logistics gateway, no longer a transit point only”, Thomas identified advocacy as being FIATA’s top priority, without forgetting technology and training: “Technology should empower freight forwarders, not marginalize them”, said Thomas Sim.
     Our host Marius Cae, chair of the Romanian association (USER), observed that contemporary logistics is more extended and expanded and quicker than ever, but also more fragile, hence it needs to be protected. Ivan Petrov, current chair of SEEFF and past president of FIATA, noted that it was “a good feeling for FIATA to feel the sub-regional atmosphere . . . In the 90’s there was deep division in the Balkans . . . then Kriton Ioannidis, from Greece, wanted to tear down the walls and bring us all together.” Ivan concluded: “We are different, we are bangaranga,” thus ushering in a bit of fun, which was indeed abundant in the three days’ event, yet never excessive. Antonella Straulino, chair of FIATA’s REU and Secretary General of CLECAT echoed his words with her subtle irony: “We all have our jobs in our countries, Fedespedi in my example, but this here is what we do for fun.”
     On arrival I had had the opportunity to exchange a few words with one of the sponsors, Paramjit Ramer, (left) representing AON World, a global freight forwarding and logistics network focused on trusted partnerships and long-term collaboration between independent forwarders. A FIATA partner, AON World is supporting stronger connectivity and cooperation across the global logistics industry: “What stood out to me most was the openness of the discussions and the willingness from participants to exchange practical experiences and ideas. There was a strong focus on how freight forwarders are adapting to changing market realities, digitalization, compliance developments, and the increasing role of AI and electronic documentation within our industry,” said Ramer.

     The panels were indeed strong and focussed, the fact of starting with security tells you a long story on what is hot on freight forwarders’ tables in this region. There was much talk about fraud and theft, but little mention of terrorism: “Security, risk and compliance – Fighting fraud and crime in the supply chain.” Moderated by Niels Beuck, (right) chair of FIATA’s ABSS, this panel touched on several burning topics:  missing cargo, carrier identity theft, fictitious payment, due diligence, automated vetting of subcontractors, checking drivers on arrival, insurance in risk mitigation, prevention, cybersecurity, legal response, TAPA security standards, EU Parking standard, etc. I really cannot think of a more complete inventory, in particular if you consider the importance of surface transport in this area.
      At the end of the day security remains a question of trust, the concept of “trusted user” was part of the discussion, reminding us of the “trusted trader” or “AEO” concepts in security related topics. Freight forwarders try indeed to stay ahead of the security curve, adapting to remain safe. “Awareness is the first line of defence” – so easy to imagine, so difficult to implement . . . Other relevant concepts, indispensable to ensure security, albeit not confined to the security tatami: good social conditions for drivers, the structure of the contract of carriage, the neutrality of the negotiating medium: freight exchange platforms are not a problem, so long as the relationship between the parties is clear. Joshua Finch of the TT Club was adamant: “We have to de-anonymize the supply chain,” and added a grain of salt: “thieves will accept very low freight rates,” as their objective is stealing your cargo.  TAPA sealed the discussion with an important statement: “Security is a case of business survival.”
     On this point we have the benefit to hear the voice of one of the panellists, our friend Nicolette Van der Jagt, DG of CLECAT, who was so kind as to release her own statement here: “Traditional theft involving physical force still exists, but the most financially damaging cases increasingly involve deception-based schemes: identity theft, impersonation of legitimate operators, and so-called phantom carriers. Criminals no longer always need to break into warehouses or hijack trucks. Increasingly, they manipulate information, procedures and trust within the supply chain itself. This is precisely why the concept of “Chain of Trust” is so important. Security today is not one single measure. It is a layered process of verification, due diligence, information control and operational discipline across the entire logistics chain, and this starts with knowing who you are doing business with. As CLECAT, we see it as an important role to raise awareness across the sector about these evolving risks and to encourage more structured and proportionate risk-management practices. At the same time, we must remain realistic. There is currently no single European automated vetting system that can fully protect operators against fraud. The logistics sector remains highly fragmented, many SMEs still rely heavily on manual checks and operational experience, and supply chains operate under enormous commercial and operational pressure.”
     Nicolette continued: “Another important challenge is the growing role of digital freight exchanges. These platforms are operationally essential and provide flexibility, but they also create opportunities for criminals to misuse stolen identities or shell companies. Against this background, CLECAT is currently finalizing a Guide to Good Practices on preventing identity-based cargo theft, developed together with national associations including DSLV in Germany, USER in Romania and ZLZ in Slovakia.      The objective is not to create unrealistic obligations, but to provide practical and operational guidance that companies can realistically integrate into daily workflows. Fighting cargo crime is not something one company, one platform or one authority can do alone. It requires cooperation between freight forwarders, carriers, shippers, insurers, freight exchanges, parking operators, technology providers and law enforcement authorities across borders. And that is ultimately what the ‘Chain of Trust’ really means.”
     In times of uncertainty it is difficult to find a hotter topic than security, so it was worth for the conference and for us to start with this conversation, but our time is up for now. We come to close the first part of this report from the Balkans with a brief summary of the last panel that concluded the two-day conference in Bucharest.       “Advancing global logistics in uncertain times” was FIATA Region Europe’s session, this time combined with SEEFF. The aim was to debate the most significant operational, regulatory and commercial challenges in the geopolitical situation with high economic uncertainty. What is the concrete support of the regional associations for their constituents was the blunt question presented for this debate? The start was fast. Looking at digitization, and even considering the eFBL can be used also port to port, have the association marketed this solution sufficiently, asked Turgut Erkeskin, Immediate Past President. Turgut was acting Chair of REU this time, due to Antonella Straulino’s sudden impediment.  Turgut stated that some companies are approaching FIATA directly in search of the solutions that could and should come from the local association members. The debate showed that there is a push from the user base for FIATA association members to come up with effective solutions to implement the eFBL more consistently in this region. Ms. Andrea Tang from FIATA noted that China is pioneering this approach with two pilots and the recognition of Chinese Customs is an important step in the right direction. 
     Ivan Petrov spoke then as SEEFF head: this being the first attempt to make a joint meeting with FIATA’s REU, he praised the new meeting formula to join forces more efficiently, for bigger audiences and putting more topics on the table, with wider networking opportunities. As a result, the interest in SEEF was said to be increased, with four new applicant counties now vying to hold the meeting in 2028. Ivan praised this new, improved formula, congratulated the hosts’ efforts for the great job done and offered SG Juliana Badea a token of appreciation.
     After great debates, great food and great camaraderie we were then bracing for the great sights: the biggest building and the biggest orthodox cathedral in the world. On the way to the monuments there was a re-emerging discussion on which cathedral was the biggest: this one or the other in Belgrade, Serbia. In reality there is information about this point, but again: what do you want information for, if you can claim your opinion is stronger with a strong voice? The Balkan colleagues around me were enticed by the dispute, but ready to settle for a reasonable truce very quickly. I shall leave you at that this time; I promise I shall soon come forward with the second part of this tale that will complete the picture of this excursion in the Balkans, a piece of our planet that has been blessed with a genuine propensity to discussion and dialogue, whilst offering plenty of reasons for wishing to return. And I have not even mentioned Dracula yet, can you believe it?
Marco Sorgetti