The Advisory Board of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) held its 20th meeting in Chisinau on April 16. EUBAM head Udo Burkholder presented the Mission’s annual report for 2012, IPN reports.

“Our efforts are aimed at helping the people and facilitating trade or economy, but things must be done in concert. We all must have an active position so as to have positive results,” said Udo Burkholder, who completes his duties in May.

The representatives of the EUBAM Advisory Board said that under the management of Udo Burkholder, the Mission achieved visible results in implementing the European standards at the border guards and customs, which is an important aspect in the process of association and liberalization of the visa regime.

Attending the event, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration Andrei Popov enumerated the most important activities carried out in cooperation with EUBAM. He mentioned the setting up of a common border crossing point in Briceni-Rososani, the joint patrolling of the Moldova-Ukrainian border, the support provided in the Transnistrian conflict settlement process, and the promotion of the confidence-building measures.

EUBAM began operations in December 2005, with a mandate to provide support and technical advice to its main partners, the border guard and customs authorities of the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, as they seek to approximate their procedures to EU standards. The Advisory Board is the Mission’s governing body and convenes twice a year.