At the initiative of Estonia and the United States, representatives of regional donor countries gathered at the Estonian Embassy in Warsaw to exchange ideas on how to best update Ukraine’s border guard to meet European Union requirements. Eva-Maria Liimets, Head of Strategy for the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), participated in the exchange on ESTDEV’s behalf.
Photo: Eva-Maria Liimets
Ukraine is standing strong against Russian military aggression in much of their country, but, in regions that are stable, a modern reinforcement and democratic reorganization of the border guard is already under consideration. The goal is that the developed border guard will be in accordance with regulations set forth by the EU, a task for which a helping hand goes a long way. Since Estonia and other democratic countries neighboring Russia have already carried out similar reforms, these states are united in their readiness to assist Ukraine.
“Estonia is actively attentive to the reforms connected to Ukraine’s European integration, where among the most important topics are border security, internal security, and the capacity building of border guards. In close cooperation with the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, we are looking for solutions that will allow us to best respond to Ukraine’s needs and strengthen this area quickly and in accordance with the rule of law,” explained Eva-Maria Liimets.
While in Warsaw, Liimets also met with Pawel Jablonski, Deputy Foreign Minister for Development Cooperation in Poland, and Michal Baranowski, Director of the German Marshall Fund think-tank. Liimets introduced ESTDEV’s current activities that support the reconstruction of Ukraine and exchanged experiences with these donor countries.
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Estonian Centre for International Development is a government foundation that manages and implements Estonia’s participation in international development cooperation and humanitarian aid projects, with the aim of increasing Estonia’s contribution to global security and sustainable development.
