Moldovan border control to be run with EU's assistance

CHISINAU. June 17 (Interfax) - The Moldovan parliament has adopted a law which allows representatives of foreign agencies to exercise control over the Moldovan border together with Moldovan border guards, and has made a number of amendments to the Law on the Moldovan State Border.

"The proposed amendments will allow Frontex [European Border and Coast Guard Agency] personnel to operate on the Moldovan border, especially in the Moldovan-Ukrainian sector, where they will be assisting the border police," State Secretary of the Moldovan Interior Ministry Serghei Diaconu said while presenting the bill to the parliament.

The amendments allow for the participation of representatives of foreign and international specialized agencies to participate in control over the Moldovan border to the limit envisaged by respective agreements and Moldovan laws.

Such officers may bring weapons to Moldova and lawfully use force during joint operations with Moldovan law enforcers.

The initiatives were backed only by deputies of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), an Interfax correspondent reported from the Moldovan parliament.

The move of the ruling party has been criticized by the opposition bloc of communists and socialists and the Shor party. The opposition believes that the involvement of Frontex in the protection of the Moldovan border is "unconstitutional," and the authorities are planning "to bring an armed foreign contingent to Moldova" this way.

Frontex officers have been working in Moldova since March 2022, before the law was adopted, on the orders from the emergency commission.

In March, the Moldovan authorities signed a cooperation agreement with Frontex and discussed an action plan that allows the agency to begin joint patrols with Moldovan border guards.