The Interior Ministry currently employs 61 170 staff according to a government media statement on January 6 2010 and is to undergo re-structuring  to streamline its departments and boost efficiency.

The Cabinet approved amendments on January 6, paving the way for improvements in existing ministry structures, aimed at boosting efficiency, co-ordination and co-operation between different departments and improving upper management.

According to reports, a breakdown of employees' qualifications reveals that 17 520 staff have university degrees and 35 740 have secondary school diplomas. The remaining 7910 staff were classified as "others".

The plans envisage that the ministry's current 15 departments should be re-structured and merged into 13 new departments. A new department, "co-ordination and analysis of information activity" will combine the current "strategic planning, information and analysis", "administrative service" and "information security" departments.

New branches would also be created, "internal audit" and "anti-fraud co-ordination structure (AFCOS)", the latter designed to combat the misappropriation of European Community funds. 

The remaining Interior Ministry departments include "criminal police", "patrol officers", "frontier police", "court police", "special branch and anti-organised crime police", "citizens' defence", "fire brigade and rescue", "national system 112", "migration police" and "international projects".