EUAM Participates in Opening of the New SBGS Border Checks Training Centre in Lviv Region
May 26, 2026
During his farewell visit to Lviv and to the EUAM Field Office Lviv, EUAM Head of Mission Rolf Holmboe took part in the official opening ceremony of the new Border Checks Training Centre of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) in Lviv region. The ceremony gathered representatives of the SBGS leadership, regional authorities, international partners, and instructors of the newly established institution.
The Centre represents an important step in the development of the SBGS professional training system. It will provide baseline training for newly recruited inspector-level personnel serving at border crossing points along Ukraine’s western and southern borders.
Acting Head of SBGS Valerii Vavryniuk noted during the ceremony: “The need for border checks professionals has surged sharply, and now, despite the difficult conditions of the combat situation in Ukraine, we continue training border checks staff”.
Operating under the SBGS Main Personnel Training Centre, the facility includes specialised classrooms and training spaces designed to support hands-on instruction in border-control procedures and related operational tasks. The visitors had an opportunity to tour the training premises and discuss further cooperation in strengthening border management capacities.
As part of its ongoing support to Ukrainian Integrated Border Management actors, EUAM’s Field Office Lviv provide technical assistance and equipment for the Centre. The Mission donated classroom and office furniture, teleconferencing equipment, interactive panels, printers, air conditioners, storage systems, and other essential items for approximately 90,000 EURO.
A key moment of the ceremony was the handover of the Ukrainian translation of the “Practical Handbook for Border Guards (Schengen Handbook)” funded by EUAM. The handbook is widely used across Schengen countries as a practical guide for border guards and contains operational guidance on border checks, document verification, visa procedures, Schengen Information System checks, asylum-related procedures, and interagency cooperation.
During his farewell visit Rolf Holmboe also met with Lviv regional interlocutors to discuss both the operational situation and the progress of strategic reforms, gave a lecture to the students of Lviv National I. Franko University as well as addressed the representatives of the National Guard of Ukraine and SBGS who participated in training-of-trainers under the Blue Haven for Ukraine project is a cooperation between EUAM and Ukrainian law enforcement agencies which aims at building a peer support system to manage mental stress in the civilian security of Ukraine.
Rolf Holmboe highlighted, ‘Our goal is to foster sustainable institutional development. Meaningful reform is not only about strengthening structures and systems but also about building human capacity and resilience. That is why supporting professional training, mental health and well-being of LEA officers is an essential part of the civilian security sector development and reform”.
