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ECONOMY > ARMENIA

Customs cutting down waiting times to a third Armenia and Georgia share a land border of 225km: three www.enpi-info.eu crossing points – Bargatashen, Gogavan and Bavra – connect the two countries. The traffic grows every year, but the checkpoint facilities remain the same. With the support of a € 61 million project mostly financed by the European Union and its financial institutions, three new border crossing points will soon be constructed. Thanks to their modernization and the introduction of new procedures, the processing capacity of the three checkpoints will be increased and trade and transit facilitated. At the same time, security will be strengthened. Two hundred kilometres from Yerevan, Bagratashen is the main crossing point. An EU Neighbourhood Info Centre journalist went there, and this is her report. Text by Aghavni Harutyunyan Pictures by AFP © EU/Neighbourhood INFO CENTRE

This publication does not represent the official view of the EC or the EU institutions. The EC accepts no responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to its content.

BAGRATASHEN – “After the completion of the new checkpoint, customs procedures N The border crossing between Armenia and Georgia. for commercial trucks and for passengers will be easier, smoother and quicker.” Karen Grigoryan is the Head of the Bagratashen Customs Point. On an average day, he sees around 250 lorries pass through the checkpoint, with much longer queues when holiday traffic clogs up the border in summer. Together with the border crossings at Bavra and Gogavan, Bargatashen processes nearly two-thirds of all the goods coming to and from Armenia. Existing facilities struggle to cope with so much traffic, making customs procedures long and cumbersome. EU Neighbourhood Info Centre To facilitate cross-border travel and trade, and at the same time to Feature no. 125 improve security, the EU is funding a project for the “Provision of This is a series of features on Equipment and Infrastructure for Bagratashen Border Crossing Point”. projects funded by the EU Regional Programme, prepared by journalists Implemented by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) under the and photographers on the ground EU Eastern Partnership Flagship Initiative, the initiative aims at the or the EU Neighbourhood Info Centre. rehabilitation of the buildings, the provision of equipment and the © 2014 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre


Customs: cutting down waiting times to a third

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development of border management capabilities. Overall, the project seeks to facilitate transit and trade, while reducing smuggling and trafficking of people and goods.

A single window to cut down on paperwork

N Customs police check papers of people travelling across the border.

Implementation of the project started last December, with the introduction of European standards of integrated border management (IBM) at the crossing point. Management of borders is one of the principal and complex tasks performed by every sovereign state, as it is directly linked with issues of national security and the country’s integration into the international community. Integrated border management implies inter-services, inter-agency and international cooperation in order to manage border procedures in the best possible way. For example, the modernisation of the checkpoint at Bagratashen will allow the use of the ‘single window’ approach, which is recommended under the principles of IBM. At present, truck drivers have to present their papers to several windows, turning customs procedures into a lengthy and frustrating process. Once the new checkpoint is finalised, it will allow them to present all their documents to a single window, with integrated IT systems, significantly cutting down waiting time and long queues. Overall, Bagratashen will be able to increase its processing capacity, to enhance the movement of goods and passengers, and therefore to facilitate trade. “Even though the workflow for customs officers might increase, we will be able to put in place an easier and quicker customs declaration process” explains Grigoryan. Thanks to the project, the cooperation between the border agencies of Armenia and Georgia will also be enhanced through the exchange of information and common capacity building initiatives. An agreement signed by the Armenian and Georgian governments even envisages joint customs administration at the border.

“After the completion of the new checkpoint, customs procedures for commercial trucks and for passengers will be easier, smoother and quicker”

Giant scanners at all three checkpoints The initiative is part of a bigger modernisation programme on Integrated Border Management, covering the three crossing points of Bargatashen, Bavra and Gogavan, where the EU is financing the construction of checkpoints through a € 12 million grant, and a € 30.3 million loan extended to Armenia by the European Investment Bank (EIB), a commercial institution owned by EU member states. The programme includes the reconstruction of existing infrastructure to meet international standards, as well as the construction of new buildings at the three border control facilities. Another loan worth over € 10.3 million has been allocated by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for a new bridge at Bagratashen. “We will be glad Branislav Dimitrijevikj, the Supervision Team Leader for the Modernisation of the to enhance the Bagratashen, Bavra and Gogvan border crossing facilities, says that the works for the movement of people and goods reconstruction of the three checkpoints will be completed by August 2015. “We will across the border” have the same type of buildings for the first two check points, while Gogavan will be smaller, due to the space available and also to the different needs of the area.” According to Mr Dimitrijevikj, the modernization works should be completed in time. “We have already purchased one of the most important pieces of equipment for the security systems,” he says, “giant ‘scanners’ that will be installed at all three checkpoints, and which will allow officers quickly and thoroughly to scan commercial trucks in order to identify the content.”

N People on the site of the construction of the new check point.


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Cutting down waiting time from 75 to 25 minutes

N The ground works for reconstruction of the first checkpoint will be completed by August 2015.

“Currently at the Bagratashen checkpoint, commercial trucks need to wait up to 75 minutes to cross the border. Once the project is over, we aim to get that down to 25 minutes,” says Grigori Malintsyan, UNDP Programme Manager on IBM. He is convinced that not only will the implementation of the project improve the environment for business and trade, but it also will secure all the necessary conditions for increased customs, phyto-sanitary, veterinary and health controls. “In the end,” he says, “we will be glad to enhance the movement of people and goods across the border.” To improve the fight against crime, drugs and human trafficking, the new scanners and equipment will play a vital role, but so too will the exchange of information between the border agencies of the two countries, which will allow an approach more based on intelligence and risk-analysis. At the same time, officers will be trained on human trafficking patterns, and how to deal with victims. Ultimately, the EU-supported project will also contribute to an increased respect for human rights, including protection of the rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, with the construction of custom-built processing facilities, as well as specialised training for staff on refugee rights, and how to deal with asylum claims.

“Currently at the Bagratashen checkpoint, commercial trucks need to wait up to 75 minutes to cross the border. Once the project is over, we aim to get that down to 25 minutes”

Border Crossing and Infrastructure www.eib.org/projects/pipeline/2011/20110563.htm The objective of the project is to facilitate free movement of persons and goods across borders, while at the same time maintaining secure borders by provision of all necessary conditions for effective performance of border, customs and other controls. The project is supposed to significantly contribute towards the enhancement of inter-agency cooperation efficiency, including technical capacity for information exchange between executive authorities on border management related issues and on border control operational procedures. Budget € 61 million Find out more Neighbourhood Investment Facility (NIF) http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/regional-cooperation/irc/investment_en.htm NIF: projects in Eastern Region http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/where/neighbourhood/regional-cooperation/irc/investment_projects_east_en.htm EU Neighbourhood Info Centre thematic portal: ECONOMY www.enpi-info.eu/themeeast.php?subject=4

EU Neighbourhood Info Centre An ENPI project The EU Neighbourhood Info Centre is an EU-funded Regional Communication project highlighting the partnership between the EU and Neighbouring countries. The project is implemented by Action Global Communications.

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