On 19th February at EUBAM HQ in Odesa authorized officers from all four EUBAM’s main partners – Border Police and Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova, State Border Guard and State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, and United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Moldova, implementing agency for Palanca project, met to finalize design and the technical requirements for the new Jointly Operated Border Crossing Point (JOBCP) Palanca. The participants discussed one more time and agreed on the final list of the requirements for the equipment to be used at this JOBCP. Based on the results of the meeting, UNDP will launch the tender procedure to equip the new border crossing point with all the necessary tools for the joint control according to the EU standards.
It is planned that the new border crossing point, specially designed for joint control, will start to operate in November 2018. The construction works are currently underway. The new border crossing point will be comfortable for travelers, business and border control agencies. When the new JOBCP Palanca starts its operations, the travellers will stop for border checks only once and the border crossing time for people and trade will reduce by 20%. The 4,5 mln euro out of 5,56 mln euro budget of the project are granted by the European Union.
“EUBAM has supported Palanca project in all aspects, from helping to apply for the EU funding on initial stage to advising on precise technical details related to the work of the JOBCP later on. The Mission will continue assisting its Moldovan and Ukrainian partners in modernization of border management between the two countries”, said Slawomir Pichor, Head of EUBAM.
Palanca will be the first newly constructed border crossing point functioning under the new Agreement on Joint Control at Moldova-Ukrainian Border signed by the Governments of Moldova and Ukraine in October 2017. Its operations will be built on modern border management principles such as one-stop-shop and Single Window with exchange of electronic data among different agencies involved in the border control.
Introduction of joint border control is an essential part of the Integrated Border Management concept promoted by EUBAM at Moldova – Ukraine border. Besides Palanca, EUBAM has been assisting partner services with implementation of another large scale EU funded project focused on support of joint control, establishing automated information exchange on travelers and vehicles and launching of Common Contact Point at Palanca JOBCP.
