Directors General of the Nordic countries’ customs services visited Ukraine – cooperation to be strengthened

The Directors General of the customs services of the Nordic countries visited Ukraine last week to support the activity of Ukrainian authorities during the war. Supporting Ukraine’s association with the EU and the cooperation in combating corruption and smuggling are important elements in developing the activity of the Ukrainian customs service. Support to Ukraine is also a daily element in the work of customs administrations, as they enforce EU sanctions.

In the photo from left to right: Øystein Børmer, Director General of Norwegian Customs, Christian Lützen, Director General of Danish Customs Agency, Johan Norrman, Director General of Swedish Customs, Serhii Zvyagintsev, Director General of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, Sami Rakshit, Director General of Finnish Customs and Snorri Olsen, Director General of Iceland Revenue and Customs.

Sami Rakshit, Director General of Finnish Customs, Øystein Børmer, Director General of Norwegian Customs, Johan Norrman, Director General of Swedish Customs, Christian Lützen, Director General of Danish Customs Agency and Snorri Olsen, Director General of Iceland Revenue and Customs visited Kyiv, Ukraine between 23 and 25 March 2025. The purpose of the visit was to discuss the support that the Nordic customs administration can give to the Ukrainian authorities during the war, and to specify various means within customs activity for supporting Ukraine also in the future.

– It is impressive how well our Ukrainian colleagues have been able to conduct customs enforcement and maintain stability in goods traffic throughout Russia’s war of attack. At the same time, they have developed their customs activity in the direction required for EU membership. We want to support them in this particular work also in the future, both in adapting the Ukrainian customs legislation to meet the requirements of the EU Customs Union and in strengthening the role customs authorities have in law enforcement, says Sami Rakshit, Director General of Finnish Customs, who headed the Nordic delegation.

– In the current changing operational security environment, various forms of cooperation are extremely valuable both for the Ukrainian authorities and for us, says Rakshit, summarising the significance of the visit. The negotiations helped to point out many concrete measures for cooperation.

The Directors General of the customs services of the Nordic countries met with Serhi Martshenko, the Ukrainian minister of finance, with Serhii Zvyagintsev, Director General of the State Customs Service of Ukraine, and with representatives of the EUAM (EU Advisory Mission) civilian crisis management operation and of the EU delegation. The visitors to Ukraine also discussed with managers of the Ukrainian Bureau of Economic Security (ESBU), and became familiar with the coordination centres for border control and prevention of smuggling.

The Directors General and the Ukrainian authorities discussed options for developing customs activities and for meeting the requirements for Ukraine’s EU membership. The participants to the meetings also exchanged views on maintaining preparedness and meeting operational requirements in exceptional circumstances. They also discussed the possibilities that customs services have in combating corruption, and especially the prevention of the smuggling of firearms and ammunition.

Strict enforcement of EU sanctions supports Ukraine

Enforcement of the EU sanctions against Russia is a visible daily element to the support from the Nordic countries to Ukraine. The work has been rigorous and extensive ever since the first days of the war.

 “On the basis of our visit, we hope to further strengthen the support from the Nordic customs services to our Ukrainian colleagues. All of us Nordic customs Directors General want to give our strongest possible support to the development of the activities of the Ukrainian customs authorities, and for meeting the requirements set for Ukraine to join the EU.”

This is a joint statement by Sami Rakshit, Director General of Finnish Customs, Øystein Børmer, Director General of Norwegian Customs, Johan Norrman, Director General of Swedish Customs, Christian Lützen, Director General of Danish Customs Agency and Snorri Olsen, Director General of Iceland Revenue and Customs.

The support to Ukraine and the enforcement of EU sanctions against Russia will be discussed next in the high-level seminar of customs directors in Kraków, Poland next week.