Since the early 1990s, the Central Asian countries have been experiencing several trans-regional challenges, such as human trafficking, trafficking of drugs, organized crime, and terrorism. Central Asia is strategically important for Europe as reflected in the European Union Central Asia Strategy for a New Partnership adopted by the European Council in 2007.
Since border security is one of the key elements for stability of the whole region, in 2002 the EU developed the Border Management Program in Central Asia (BOMCA) to enhance security, fight illegal trafficking, and facilitate trade in Central Asia.
The ninth phase of the project (BOMCA-9) was launched in 2015. Originally, it was supposed to last until 2018, but because of the successful implementation of the project it has been extended until 2019.
The overall management of the BOMCA-9 project is provided by the Latvian State Border Guard. The project consortium also includes state institutions and international organizations from several EU member states, including Lithuania, Hungary, and Portugal.
The total budget is almost five million euros and 90.9 percent is financed from the EU budget. The project is co-financed by the participating member countries.
For more information, visit the BOMCA-9 project website: https://www.bomca-eu.org/en/