Ambassadors from 27 EU member states have visited the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine headquarters in Odesa.

According to their information, the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine yesterday had the privilege of hosting the Political and Security Committee (PSC) of the European Union at its headquarters in Odesa. The Committee’s visit to EUBAM came in between high-level meetings it conducted in Chisinau and Kyiv with senior government representatives there.

Formally established under the European Council in 2001, the Political and Security Committee is a permanent EU body comprised of 27 ambassadors from the foreign ministries of each Member State. It performs a monitoring and policy advice role concerning European Common Foreign and Security Policy (including European Security and Defence Policy) issues, and also plays a central role in determining the EU’s response to crisis situations.

EUBAM reports to the PSC on a twice-a-year basis, and following the address of Udo Burkholder (Head of EUBAM) to the Committee in Brussels last June, ambassadors expressed a desire to visit the Mission in the near future. It was the first time the Committee has visited the Mission headquarters in Odesa since EUBAM set up at the end of 2005.

At yesterday’s meeting with Mr Burkholder and other EUBAM senior staff members, EUBAM presented the PSC ambassadors with an activity update, with particular emphasis on some of the Mission’s successes and priority areas, such as its contribution to the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, the visa liberalization process, and Integrated Border Management.

«It is a unique opportunity for EUBAM to host ambassadors from all 27 member states at once, said Mr Burkholder. «We feel honoured that such an important EU group took the time to travel to Odesa from Brussels. It is a reflection of the importance they attach to our work.

While in Odesa the Committee also met with the Chairman of Odesa Regional State Administration, Mr Eduard Matviychuk, before moving on to Kyiv.