On 26 January, ICMPD held the Steering Group meeting of the SCOP 3.1 project. The purpose of the event was to take stock of the project's progress, agree on the work plan for its successful completion, and exchange ideas on possible ways forward beyond the project life cycle.
The event gathered management-level representatives from the key stakeholders – the Moldovan Border Police as the primary benefiting authority, the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic in their capacity of donor, and the project management team from ICMPD as the implementing partner. In addition, representatives of the Moldovan Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Chisinau attended the meeting.
During the event, the implementing team presented the progress regarding the procurement of various equipment envisaged in the project, as well as its accompanying capacity-building component. In addition, participants were informed of essential project administration work required in the inception phase, such as project registration with the National Aid Management Platform, launching the project webpage, coordination with various stakeholders, and submission of the inception report covering the first four months.
During discussions, participants exchanged views on various project deliverables. Regarding equipment, attention was drawn to the national dual-use compliance procedures and risks for delay with approvals. Attendants briefly brainstormed the best ways to mitigate this concern and identified preliminary solutions. On the capacity-building component, the donor expressed increased interest in the upcoming results of the needs assessment exercise that could inform future assistance beyond the current project. Finally, it has been preliminarily agreed that the next Steering Group meeting could take place sometime in May, before the summer recess.
The project “Support to the Complex Improvement of Migration and Border Management in Moldova” (SCOP) aims to help Moldovan authorities with the consolidation of migration and border management system in line with the EU Acquis. The objective of its Component 3.1. "Strengthening Border Police operational capacities for border security" is to contribute to Moldovan Border Police’s resilience and capacities, including effective management of the state border and timely and adequate response to crisis situations. The action is implemented by ICMPD and is funded by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.