EU Comes to Monitor the Transdniestrian Border
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Friday, 02 December 2005
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Kommersant - Moscow, Russia
The EU mission started monitoring the Ukrainian-Moldovan border yesterday. The mission arrived at the request of Moldova which had complained about drug and weapons smuggling at the Transdniestrian frontier section. Authorities of the break-away republic did not object and say the monitoring will prove Moldovans accusations wrong. The European Union is also interested in the mission as a means to put a screen at their future border - after Romania and Bulgaria will join the union in 2007. Ukraine, striving to get the EU membership, also lauded the initiative.
The EU mission is to work two years on the Ukrainian-Moldovan frontier and its term may be later prolonged. €6 million has been allocated for the effort. The monitoring will be conducted by 69 customs and border guard experts from 16 EU countries and their 50 Moldovan and Ukrainian counterparts. They are to be moving between border checkpoints and conducting extra inspections of cargo and documents. They will also train local border guards. The headquarters of the mission was opened in Odessa on Wednesday. The ceremony was attended by Javier Solana, EU High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, EU Commissioner for External Relations, Boris Tarasyuk, Ukrainian Foreign Minister and his Moldovan counterpart Andrey Stratan.
The EU experts were invited at the request of Moldovan authorities who repeatedly accused Transdniestria of smuggling drugs and weapons. European officials account their eagerness to come to the border for the coming enlargement of the union. After Romania and Bulgaria join, the EU will find itself on the border with. Under the circumstances, putting up barriers now is quite reasonable.
Moldovan authorities hope for a soon crackdown on the smuggling. Transdniestrian officials, on the contrary, maintain that the monitoring team will help them prove the contraband accusations groundless. “We are convinced that the commission will provide the information that will dismiss most of the allegations right away,” Transdniestrian Foreign Minister Valery Litskay said.
by www.kommersant.com
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