The European Union through its project “EU Support to Strengthening Integrated Border Management in Ukraine (EU4IBM)” handed over surveillance equipment to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine for a total worth of almost EUR 500,000.

“While the border guards are literally protecting the borders from the unprovoked and unjustified aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, new and hybrid threats are growing just as conventional vulnerabilities have not gone away. To this end, with the help of the donated equipment, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine will be able to cover more of the most vulnerable segments of the border. The European Union has been and will continue supporting SBGS for our common security”, said Xavier Camus, Head of the Good Governance and Democratisation Section at the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine.

With this delivery of surveillance equipment, the EU assistance to IBM agencies under the EU4IBM project has reached a total value of more than EUR 1.5 million, and includes a wide range of critically needed supplies. These supplies help enable the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine to better fulfil their border security tasks and respond to newly emerging risks.

“Integrated border management is not only about processes and mechanisms to be designed in a better, coordinated and holistic way but also about modern and effective technical means that help ease the daily tasks and improve the overall performance”, commented Arunas Adomenas, EU4IBM Team Leader.

Since 2020, the EU4IBM project has been focusing its activities on rendering all-round support to the Ukrainian IBM agencies by promoting and facilitating intra- and interagency cooperation, data exchange and cross border cooperation, improvement of single-agency and joint business processes, in order to assist the country in the full-fledged implementation of the European Integrated Border Management approach. After the start of the full-scale Russian aggression against Ukraine, the project responded to some of the vital needs of the State Border Guard Service and State Customs Service in terms of critical supplies to help them fulfil their functions in time of war.

Background information: The project “EU Support to Strengthening Integrated Border Management in Ukraine (EU4IBM)” is funded by the EU and carried out by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). It supports the implementation of the reforms approximating the border management system of Ukraine to the EU standards and best practices in line with the Integrated Border Management Strategy of Ukraine adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on 24 July 2019. The project runs from December 2019 until December 2022.

For additional information, please contact Ihor Serheiev via [email protected] or +38 099 515 62 51.