After two decades of fostering cross-border cooperation, promoting European values, and supporting the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine on their EU path, the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) is concluding its activities in November 2025.
Since its establishment in 2005, EUBAM has become a symbol of partnership, trust, and shared commitment to European integration values and principles. Together with the Border Guard/Police and Customs Services of both countries, the Mission has helped modernize border management, enhance security, and facilitate trade in line with European and international best practices, that fostered both candidates countries’ paths toward EU membership.
Over the years, EUBAM has evolved into a trusted partner and catalyst for regional cooperation. The decision to phase out the Mission reflects the remarkable progress achieved by the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine as EU candidate countries. Its legacy will live on through the institutions it supported, the capacities it built, and the cross-border trust it fostered.
Speaking at the Closing Ceremony on 6 November 2025, Mr Sławomir Pichor, Head of EUBAM, expressed deep gratitude: “After twenty years of service, we gather to mark the closing of a Mission that has not only safeguarded borders but built bridges of cooperation and understanding.” He recalled that while EUBAM’s task began with strengthening border and customs management, it soon became much more – about people, trust, dialogue, and transforming borders from barriers into gateways of cooperation.
Mr Pichor paid tribute to the dedication of international and national staff, noting that their professionalism and teamwork embodied European unity in action. He also expressed admiration for the courage and resilience of Ukrainian partners in wartime, and gratitude for Moldova’s commitment to European values and regional stability. “Secure borders are not about separation – they are about cooperation, stability, and connection,” he underlined.
The Closing Ceremony gathered key partners and friends of EUBAM, and featured the esteemed speakers Mr Máté Csicsai, Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, Ms Ester Ruiz de Azua, Chief of IOM Moldova, Mr Valeriu Mija, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Moldova, and H.E. Mr Paun Rohovei, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine in the Republic of Moldova.
As EUBAM closes its chapter, it leaves behind more than stronger institutions – it leaves a legacy of trust, professionalism, and European unity. “Today we close the Mission,” concluded Mr Pichor, “but what we have built together will live on – in the institutions we strengthened, in the cooperation we inspired, and in the friendships that will outlast this flag.”
