The Border Guard Service will be transformed into Border Police and will become a division of the Ministry of the Interior. Such a provision is contained in a bill that was passed by Parliament in first reading, Info-Prim Neo reports. Roman Revenko, director of the Border Guard Service, said the new division will include the border police department, regional units and border crossing points. The regional units will have decisional autonomy, including as regards the employment of personnel. The head of the Border Police will be named and dismissed by the Government, at the suggestion of the minister of the interior. According to Roman Revenko, the Border Police will enjoy independence in taking decisions and will have more powers than the Border Guard Service. The border policemen will also have responsibilities in crossborder crime combating, criminal prosecution, examination of offenses and legal appraisal of travel documents. They will be hired only after they do professional training courses. Besides police officers, the Border Police will include salaried civil employees and technical personnel. The employees will total about 8,000. The Communists criticized the bill and refused to support it, saying the given law allows the Ministry of the Interior to have a monopoly. “This bill will strengthen the position of the Ministry of the Interior that manages the carabineers and other public order maintenance bodies. It is a mistake to excessively strengthen the power of this Ministry,” said Communist lawmaker Anatolie Gorila. The MP requested Head of Parliament Marian Lupu to prevent the adoption of the bill, saying it reduces the powers of the chief commander of the armed forces.