Finland to take part in EU operation on Moldova-Ukraine border
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Finland is to take part in a and customs operation of the European Commission on the between Moldova and Ukraine.
The operation, which begins in early December, will involve about 70 experts from various EU member states, five of whom are from Finland.
The Deputy Head of the operation is Lieutenant-Colonel Antti Hartikainen of the Finnish Border Guard.
Hartikainen, along with Brigadier General Jaakko Oksanen, who is working with the peace process in Indonesia’s Aceh Province, is the highest-ranking Finn involved in civilian crisis management operations.
The goal is to strengthen the ability of Ukrainian and Moldovan border and customs officials to maintain security on their border, and to monitor cross-border traffic in goods and people.
It is also hoped that the operation will make it easier to find a solution to the long-standing conflict over the Transdnistria region. It is part of a broader EU programme to support democratic and economic progress in Moldova.
The EU and the United States were approved as monitors in negotiations aimed at solving the conflict in Transdnistria, where ethnic Russians have feared that the former Soviet republic of Moldova might want to merge with neighbouring Romania.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 30.11.2005 - TODAY |
 Finland to take part in EU operation on Moldova-Ukraine border
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