President Iohannis calls on parliament to review amendments to MoD law

President Klaus Iohannis has sent to the Parliament on Friday, for review, the law amending and completing Law 346/2006 on the organization and functioning of the Ministry of National Defence (MoD), which includes, among other things, provisions regarding the dismissal of the Director of the General Intelligence Department of Defence.

In the request sent to Chamber of Deputies Speaker Liviu Dragnea, the head of state points out that the normative act aims to redefine some terms, as well as to modify some structures, powers and responsibilities of the Ministry of National Defence, and considers that these legislative interventions need to be reviewed by the parliament, in view of observing the principle of bicameralism provided by art. 61 of the Constitution, but also because they do not correlate with other provisions in the field, depriving of content the fundamental constitutional institutions and being likely to generate malfunctions in the system.

The head of state mentions that the legislative interventions on normative acts referring to structures with responsibilities in the field of national security require a careful analysis from the perspective of CSAT’s role and prerogatives.

“By removing the Supreme Defence Council (CSAT) from the decision-making process, it is likely to affect the functioning of this fundamental constitutional institution from the perspective of carrying out all concrete actions of organizing and unitary coordination of the activities related to the country’s defence and national security,” the head of state said in his request for review.

According to the law passed for promulgation, the General Director of the General Defence Intelligence Service is appointed by the Minister of Defence, with the CSAT approval and his dismissal is to be made only by order of the Minister of Defence.

The draft amendment to the law of the Ministry of National Defence was adopted on May 2 by the Senate, the decision-making chamber. The Chamber of Deputies has tacitly adopted the bill.