According to two Irish politicians who met with Ukrainian leaders in Lviv, western Ukraine over the weekend, there needs to be better coordination of efforts to help refugees cross the border from Ukraine into the European Union.

On Sunday, as part of a visit to the city’s Polish-Ukrainian border, he met with Ukrainian politicians, including Senator Timmy Dooley, MEP Billy Keller, Liv Mayor Andrei Sadovy, and the region’s Governor Maxim Kozitsky.

The European Union (EU) needs to better coordinate its efforts and provide more assistance to bring people across the border out of Ukraine faster, said Dolly, deputy leader of the ALDE party. Dooley has temporarily granted affiliation to the party of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky, who returned from Lviv last week.

In particular, the two politicians called for better procedures for crossing the border, citing 20km of cars and pedestrians waiting all night for a permit to enter Poland.

“It’s clear that checking people coming to Poland is very slow and takes a long time,” Dooley said. “This is unacceptable and makes the suffering of the people worse,” the Irish senator added.

“Technically, the border is open, so Ukrainians can enter Europe freely,” he added, “but there is still a lot left for border management to want.

Dooley and Keller will share the results of their trip with members of the ALDE Party and the European Parliament.

“We will report what we have seen to our parties across Europe and to those who need to know. The message we received was that support for refugees is increasing. Because, frankly, it’s hard for them to cross the border, ”Dooley said.

According to Dooley, the leaders the two met in Ukraine “want more help from Europe”, including more helmets and bulletproof vests. The senator also called for increased support for NGOs working on the ground to resolve the humanitarian crisis on the border.