Customs training initiative boosts Transnistria confidence-building process

Chisinau, 21 May: In a further demonstration of the efforts of the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine (EUBAM) to support the process of confidence building on both sides of the Dniester river, EUBAM today brought customs experts from Chisinau and Tiraspol together for a landmark training initiative that will continue in Chisinau until Friday.

‘Building customs capacity towards modernization’ is the first EUBAM-organised customs training initiative that both parties have participated in together, and follows on from the resumption of rail freight traffic through Transnistria on 26 April after a suspension of approximately six years.

The rail-freight resumption came about thanks to a political agreement of 30 March reached by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Vlad Filat, and new Head of Transnistria, Yevgeny Shevchuk, and the subsequent signing of a protocol on customs control, which took into account the technical proposals developed by EUBAM aimed at resolving the customs deadlock.

EUBAM efforts at assisting the process of rail-freight resumption also included a trilateral meeting in November 2011 that saw customs representatives from Chisinau and Tiraspol engage in face to face discussions for the first time in 10 years.

Now that rail freight traffic has resumed, the emphasis will be on developing close working relationships between the two parties and proper implementation of customs control on both sides of the Dniester river.

To that end, this week’s training will aim to improve participants’ understanding of trade facilitation tools, and also focus on issues such as rules of origin, examination of freight, and risk analysis. It is hoped that the event will also lay the foundations for further measures of customs cooperation in future, something that EUBAM will continue to support through the provision of technical assistance.

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