Ontwerp-verklaring over de Europese steun aan grensposten tussen Moldavië en Oekraïne (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Brits voorzitterschap Europese Unie 2e helft 2005, gepubliceerd op donderdag 13 oktober 2005.

(13/10/05)

At the Permanent Council on 6 October 2005, the European Union reminded its OSCE partners of its decision to accede to the request for assistance with control of the border between Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, which was made to it by Presidents Voronin and Yushchenko in their joint letter of 2 June 2005.

An important step has now been taken in the application of this decision, with the signing on 7 October of the Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Moldova and the Ukraine on the establishment of a European Border Assistance Mission.

In application of the Action Plans agreed with Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova regarding the European Union Neighbourhood Policy, and contributing to the implementation of the conclusions of the Council of the European Union of June 2004 on the Republic of Moldova and that of 2005 on Ukraine, the Memorandum of Understanding provides for the deployment of a Mission composed of around fifty European experts, police and customs officers by 1 December 2005, according to the following procedures:

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    deployment along the Moldovan-Ukrainian border, including its Transnistrian section, for an initial duration of 6 months, followed by a second phase of 12 to 18 months. The Mission will also be present in several of the region's ports, including Odessa, where it will have a logistics base.
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    on-the-spot advice and training of the Ukrainian and Moldovan border guards and customs officers, aimed at reinforcing their ability to provide effective controls and surveillance, in particular to fight illegal trafficking of people, arms and goods;
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    provision of equipment;
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    formulation of recommendations with regard to improving the administration of customs officers and border controls, and with regard to the reinforcement of cooperation and exchange of information between the Moldovan and Ukrainian services;
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    although of a non-executive nature, the Mission's mandate provides for the possibility of conducting unannounced inspections and re-inspections, in the presence of Ukrainian and Moldovan officials.
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    financing of the Mission will be covered by the European Commission budget of 3 millions euros for the first phase, and 4 millions euros for the second.

    Through this Border Assistance Mission, the European Union wishes to strengthen its contribution to the search for a viable and durable solution to the question of Transnistria, and to reaffirm in practice its will to reduce the risks to security coming from this region.

    The European Union thanks Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova for their cooperation in the preparation of the Mission.

    The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey and Croatia,1 the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, align themselves with this statement.

 

1 Croatia continues to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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