YEREVAN. - Yelk (Way Out) Bloc proposes to reduce the number of Armenian ministries from 18 to 15, bloc MP Edmon Marukyan said in the parliament on Tuesday.

In his words, the new edition of the Constitution requires the governmental authorities to be included in the composition of ministries. But this procedure will enter into force since 2018, while before this the leaders of the mentioned institutions—first of all, those of the Police and National Security Service—were not considered as political officials “Not bearing a political responsibility, they were not accountable to the parliament,” Marukyan noted.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs was reorganized into Police in 2001, and the Ministry of National Securities has turned into a service since 1 January 2003.

Yelk proposes to include the Ministry of Emergency Situations in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and make the Service of National Security a separate ministry.

It is also proposed to include the State Committee of Real Property Cadastre into the Ministry of Justice, and combine the ministries of agriculture and ecology, as well as the ministries of education and culture. Apart from this, Yelk proposes to return the State Revenue Committee (SRC) to the Ministry of Finance.

According to Marukyan, the Ministries of Defense, Health, Labor and Social Affairs, Sport and Youth should be retained in their current form. The Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources should be included in the State Nuclear Safety Regulatory Commitее, whereas the General Department of Civil Aviation—in the Ministry of Transport, Communication and Information Technologies, the MP said.

Finally, it is proposed to combine the Ministry of Economic Integration and Reforms, as well as the State Property Management Department with the Ministry of Economic Development and Investments. Moreover, the management of the Government staff should be entrusted to the vice premier, Marukyan proposed.

“Thus, there will be no agency left in the Government, which will not be accountable to the parliament. We appoint them and pay them salary,” Marukyan said.