EUBAM INTENDS TO EXTEND ITS ACTIVITY TILL 2020

The mandate of activity of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine may be extended till 2020 and the mission aims to contribute to Transnistrian conflict settlement and raising the level of international cooperation in border management, said EUBAM Mission Head Andrew Tesoriere at the meeting with new Chairman of the Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service, Lieutenant General Pyotr Tsygikal.

According to the Service’s website, he also confirmed the intentions for further close cooperation with the Ukrainian border agency, in particular, for enforcing operative and institutional possibilities for ensuring efficient control and border surveillance.

Tsygikal pointed at the important role of the Mission in combating cross-border crime, improving operational possibilities and raising the level of cooperation between Ukraine and Moldova.

The stakeholders noted that considerable results were achieved over the latest period. In particular, joint patrolling was ensured at the Ukraine-Moldova border, a number of special operations, directed to combating illegal turnover of fire-arms and cigarette smuggling, were conducted. Besides, the cooperation in risk analysis remains positive, in particular the general analysis of threats at the border with Moldova. Also, one of important questions of cooperation was development of joint control at customs points at the Ukrainian-Moldovan border.

The head of the State Border Service expressed confidence of further close cooperation with European colleagues. First of all, this concerns the issues of adapting the national legislation and improvement of the integrated border management in accordance with EU standards, equipping of checkpoints for organizing joint control, joint seeking of new forms of strengthening border security and of course raising the level of people’s trust in Customs service.

Infotag’s dossier: The European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) started its activity on November 30, 2005, as a result of the joint address of presidents of both countries to the European Commission. The EUBAM is an advisory and technical body, financed by the EU within the European Neighborhood and Partnership Instrument, which implies building capacity of border and customs bodies, as well as other law enforcement and state bodies of Moldova and Ukraine in the field of border management. The Mission’s goal is to ensure that border and customs procedures and norms in Moldova and Ukraine to correspond to EU requirements. The Mission mandate has been extended already 4 times (in 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015). The current mandate is valid till November 30, 2017.