On Police Day, the National Inspectorate for Investigations (NII) celebrated the inauguration of its new premises. As of today, NII is equipped in line with the Western standards, which will contribute to improved performance of its staff. This has been made possible due to the regional anti-crime cooperation programs in Moldova and Romania implemented within the European Neighborhood Mechanism.
The European Union’s contribution to the Joint Operational Program Romania-Moldova is over 6 million EUR, topped up with co-financing from beneficiaries totaling 12 million EUR.
“While NII has performed well so far, achieving significant results this year, from now on it has everything it needs and we expect its results to come close to perfection. We thank the European Union for its interest and contribution to a well performing national police. I wish the NII colleagues great achievements in their new home”, stressed Minister of Internal Affairs Adrian Efros.
In his congratulatory speech, the Ambassador of the European Union in Chisinau, His Excellency Jānis Mažeiks, stated: ”This building is a symbol of the EU-Moldova cooperation. It shows how important it is that police officers do their jobs in appropriate conditions, are professional, well-trained, and trustworthy. It is also evidence that EU support is for the benefit of the entire country”.
During the inauguration event, the Chief of Police from Romania, Benone Matei, emphasizedthat “the main objective of the THOR project was to strengthen police cooperation between the two countries, focusing on preventing and combating cross-border crime. The project invested in expanding technical and training capacities of police entities in both countries, developing joint strategies, and conducting surveys to measure citizen satisfaction. By working together as a team, with close cooperation between the two countries, we have managed to achieve the objectives of the project”.
The new NII premises is equipped with a training center for investigation officers, a recognition room, hearing rooms, a psychological counseling office and other relevant facilities. This became possible with the support of European partners in enhancing the capacities of the police in combating crime through joint training sessions with Romanian partners.
Out of the total funding received by the National Police, 1.7 million EUR came from external assistance through the European Neighborhood Mechanism, and the Government contribution amounting to over 950 thousand EUR. With this support, the General Police Inspectorate (GPI) was able to reconstruct and renovate 10 police units and the new building of the National Inspectorate for Investigations, housing three operational units.
