Daniella Misail-Nichitin
Minister of Internal Affairs Daniella Misail-Nichitin stated that the project calls for the procurement of both stationary and mobile scanners. Mobile equipment can be quickly deployed to checkpoints experiencing increased traffic or passenger flow, or where risk analysis identifies relevant indicators.
“Scanners are quite expensive, so it will not be possible to equip all border crossing points with them. In the first phase, we propose installing both stationary and mobile scanners,” Misail-Nichitin said during an interview on Vocea Basarabiei.
According to the minister, the technical equipment is necessary, among other things, to detect attempts to illegally import weapons and ammunition into Moldova. The risks associated with their illegal movement were identified as early as 2022. The Border Police and the Customs Service are monitoring the situation.
“The trend is on the rise, but this is a testament to the vigilance and measures taken by Border Police officers and our colleagues in the Customs Service. At the same time, additional measures are needed, as protocols alone are not enough. It is extremely important to strengthen the technical equipment at border crossing points in order to detect, among other things, these categories of goods. In this regard, the Moldovan-Ukrainian border is undoubtedly a priority,” stated the Minister of Internal Affairs.
The minister noted that Moldova still has a significant amount of work to do to enhance border security and bring the border control system into compliance with the requirements of the Schengen Code.
The authorities are currently developing an action plan, which is scheduled to be discussed with the European Commission. The document provides, in particular, for preparing information systems to be compatible with European systems, as well as further strengthening methods for protecting the state border. In the short term, the authorities also plan to open seven border crossing points on the border with Romania.
