News

At a meeting of the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union, Florin Bulgariu was appointed Head of EUBAM Rafah, effective 1 November 2020. 

Mr. Bulgariu is a high ranking police officer (Colonel) with more than 25 years of professional experience. He is thoroughly specialized in conducting border operations on both the operational and strategic levels and is fully acquainted with all the EU mechanisms related to border operations including Schengen aquis and asylum granting procedures. ​

The Council decided to extend the mandates until 30 June 2021 of three of its Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) civilian missions: the European Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya), the European Border Assistance Mission in the Rafah Crossing Point (EUBAM Rafah), and the European Police Mission for the Palestinian Territories (EUPOL COPPS).

Antonella Di Sandri, from Italy’s northeast, was appointed as a Senior Customs Officer in the city of Udine in 1999, and for the past two decades has worked on customs issues in her home country as well as EU-funded projects in the Balkans. Since July 2017, she has been seconded by the Italian authorities as a Border Customs Expert at EUBAM Rafah to support capacity building in the Palestinian General Administration for Borders and Crossings (GABC).

In order to support the Palestinian General Administration for Borders and Crossings during the global fight against COVID-19, as well the fight against infectious diseases more widely, the Head of the European Union border assistance Mission, EUBAM Rafah, Guenther Freisleben decided to reallocate existing funds at short notice in order to donate a portable rapid deployable thermal imaging fever system. 

As part of the efforts to control the spread of Coronavirus, the General Administration for Borders and Crossings has stepped up new measures to examine incoming travelers.

The mobile clinic, that was donated by EUBAM Rafah and served as a private space for nursing mothers, is now being used as a screening station for travelers arriving into the West Bank.

On 23 January 2020, the European Union Border Assistance Mission concluded a one-day-workshop on "Enhancing GABC Capacities in Adressing the Needs of Disabled People Crossing the Border". This workshop, held in Jericho, comes as the first of its kind to rethink the obligations towards disabled passengers. 

On 12.12.2019, the Head of the European Union Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point Mr. Guenther Freisleben and the General Director of the General Administration for Borders and Crossings Governor Nazmi Mhanna signed the donation agreement for the newly constructed command and control center. 

Aimed at developing knowledge and improving skills in encountering serious crimes with cross-border dimensions, six participants from the General Administration for Borders and Crossings and the relevant border agencies took part in a three-day-training entitled "Investigations on Cross-Border Crimes" at the Judicial Training Institute in Amman, Jordan. 

In support of the "16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence", EUBAM Rafah has raised the voice to end violence against women. 

This comes as part of a campaign that started on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November and ends on Human Rights Day on 10 December. The campaign was originated by activists at the Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991 and has continued ever since to be coordinated by the Center for Women's Global Leadership. 

The European Union Border Assistance Mission for the Rafah Crossing Point joined efforts with the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission to deliver a training on "Cross-Border Irregularities and Frauds; Anti-Corruption Preventive Measures."

For the duration of two days, a training on cross-border irregularities and frauds took place at the Training Center of the General Administration for Borders and Crossings in Jericho.