EUAM partners agree that inter-ministerial committee is right way forward for IBM

August 18, 2017

The Director General of Finnish Customs, Antti Hartikainen, was the main speaker at an Integrated Border Management (IBM) workshop organised by EUAM in Kyiv yesterday. Senior Finnish police and border guard officials also attended the workshop, the focus of which was the Finnish model of IBM. EUAM is trying to support the establishment of an executive inter-ministerial committee with political oversight on IBM, and yesterday, the Mission’s partners – such as the State Border Guard Service, police, Ministry of Internal Affairs, State Security Service, State Fiscal Service, State Migration Service and Ministry of Foreign Affairs – acknowledged that this would be key to progress on IBM.

Ukraine shares a border with four European Union countries, and it is vital for the EU that Ukraine ensures its border security,” stressed the Acting Head of EUAM, Joelle Vachter. “Integrated Border Management requires all agencies involved in managing borders to work effectively together in order to facilitate smooth border crossing for legitimate travel and trade, and at the same time to prevent cross-border crime.”