Interior Minister Daniella Misail-Nikitin said at the 17 December meeting that the key element of the program is the modernization of infrastructure and technology at border crossing points. It is also planned to create a digital system of information exchange between agencies, implement joint controls in accordance with Schengen standards and strengthen cooperation with the EU and neighboring countries.
By 2030, it is planned to develop 80% of the infrastructure at the border, including construction and modernization of facilities, creation of access roads and bridges, which will reduce congestion at border crossing points.
The program also includes an innovative national quality control mechanism to monitor the performance of border authorities. The main objectives are to reduce border vulnerability through early risk identification and security, including the prevention of illegal migration, smuggling and other crimes, while facilitating the legal movement of people and vehicles.
Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu described the project as “very important in terms of all developments concerning our security.” “I am grateful for this project.”
The project notes the importance of EU solidarity mechanisms and financial instruments for strengthening border management capacity, but Moldova’s access to these resources is still limited.
It should be noted that today, on the Moldovan-Romanian section, legal crossing is carried out through 10 international checkpoints, on the Moldovan-Ukrainian section – through 21 points for international traffic, 5 interstate points and 16 local ones. The central section of the border is temporarily not controlled by the constitutional authorities, where 25 checkpoints are functioning. At the same time, 85% of all traffic is concentrated at only 9-10 border crossing points, which creates significant pressure on the existing infrastructure.
As Logos Press previously wrote, according to the Border Police, in the first six months of this year, the flow of people crossing the state border increased by more than 9% compared to the same period last year, almost 9.6 million crossings were recorded. More than 4,200 unauthorized border crossing attempts were prevented.
Recently, the US Embassy in Moldova stated the concern of the American side about the possible consequences of mass migration. “Within the framework of a meeting with Interior Minister Daniela Misail-Nikitin, Charge d’Affaires Nick Petrovic emphasized the US concern about mass migration, which could lead to an increase in serious crimes and breakdown of law and order,” the embassy said.
