On January 25, 2018 at the premises of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine the Fifth Steering Committee Meeting of the Twinning Project “Support to the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine for the further Development of Integrated Border Management Approaches for Travel Document Verification and Stolen Motor Vehicles Detection” took place.

The project is implemented by the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in cooperation with the Federal Police Service of Germany, the State Border Guard Service under the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania and the Border Guard Service of Poland.

The goal of the project is to strengthen the capacity of the State Border Guard Service in illegal migration prevention and corruption counteraction, to facilitate the effective implementation of the integrated border management system in accordance with the best standards and practices of the European Union.

The Head of the International Cooperation Department and European Integration Alexander Panchenko presented the main results of the project implementation in his welcome speech, noting that one of the significant results of the joint work is the achievement of consensus on establishment of a high-level interdepartmental working group on the issues of coordinating integrated border management as a consultative-advisory body of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. The main outcomes achieved were preceded by considerable work on the study of international practices, in particular Finland, Germany, Poland and Lithuania as well as the discussion between representatives of the main subjects of the integrated border management, representatives of the EU Delegation to Ukraine and the EU missions EUAM and EUBAM.

The practical results of the project were presented during the event, in particular, new training programs for training specialists on issues of verification of passport documents were developed, the provisions of the new Concept for further capacity building and increasing the effectiveness of detection of counterfeit documents, the Action Plan for its implementation, as well as the Concept for improving the detection system in points of abduction of stolen vehicles were considered, that is to facilitate the implementation of the strategic course of Ukraine for integration into the European Union, to play the role of the State Border Guard Service in the area of integrated border management.

The Head of the Twinning project of the EU Member State Thomas Osterroth outlined the main events that took place during the reporting period. At the same time, it was emphasized that Component 1 of the project "Assistance in monitoring and evaluation of implementation of the Concept of Integrated Border Management and its implementation plan" is the basis for further implementation of the best European practices in the Ukrainian Border Guard, and effective realization of the project depends on its implementation.

The manager of the Border Guard, Migration and Security Sector of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Stefan Dalgren and the Deputy Head of the Projects Management Unit of the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union Inna Bielobratova presented their speeches and provided the main comments to the quarterly report of the project. In addition, it was emphasized on the key persons’ professionalism involved in the implementation of the project, that ensures the timely achievement of its mandatory results.

Resident Twinning Adviser Daniel Farrell expressed his gratitude to the project partners for coherent and coordinated cooperation, presented plans for the next reporting period.

At the same time, a financial report was presented, recommendations were discussed on the implementation and improvement of the activities of the border authority and integrated border management in general.

The experts of the Twinning Project for the State Border Guard Service of the EU Member States, representatives of the Administration of State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and others took a part in the event.

For reference: according to Resolution of the Cabinet of Ukraine “On Approval of the Procedure for Initiation, Preparation and Implementation of the Twinning Projects” as of 11 October, 2016 No 700 the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service coordinates the implementation of the institution building instrument of the European Union Twinning in Ukraine. Furthermore, in accordance with relevant legal acts the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service is the coordinator of institution building instrument TAIEX implementation in Ukraine. In order to provide effective coordination of Twinning and TAIEX the Twinning Program Administration Office in Ukraine was established, its functions are performed by the Center for Adaptation of the Civil Service to the Standards of the European Union.

The project “Support of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine for the further implementation of integrated border management principles, in particular in the area of checking documents and detecting stolen cars” covers the following three components:

• Component 1 - assistance in monitoring and evaluating the new Integrated Border Management Strategy and implementation of the Activity Plan;
• Component 2 - improvement of the Border Control System, including the IT system, in accordance with EU standards and practices.
• Component 3 - approximation of national legislation and practice in the field of detection of stolen cars to EU standards.