Rosia Montana – a National Security Issue

It’s been a month since protests broke out in Bucharest and elsewhere in Romania and abroad against the draft law regarding gold and silver mining in Rosia Montana. The controversial project, which for 15 years was kept on stand-by, is seen by its opponents as a threat to the environment, because mining in the area would entail the use of a cyanide-based technology and would destroy historical vestiges.

On the other side of the barricade, supporters of the project claim that opening the mine in Rosia Montana would translate into jobs for the locals, and would solve social and economic issues in the area. In another move, hearings have been held for more than two weeks now, in expert parliamentary commissions, with all the parties concerned.

The head of the Romanian Intelligence Service, George Maior, who was heard by the Commission for the Control of the Intelligence Service, says that Rosia Montana is a national security issue, claiming at the same time that he cannot have a say on the opportunity of such a project.

George Maior: “The complexity and major implications of this project, both social, economic and environmental, without excluding also some implications for Romania’s foreign relations, have turned it into a mater of national security. The Romanian Intelligence Service has issued more than 500 notifications for decision-makers ever since January 1999. The Service has paid attention to actions aimed at influencing the decision-making process and also to attempts by extremist eco-anarchist structures to take advantage of or misapply protesters’ moves, which otherwise have been legitimate.”

In parallel, hearings have been carried on in the special parliamentary commission for Rosia Montana. Minister for Infrastructure and Foreign Investment, Dan Sova, has explained that when drafting the law, the Government focused on ensuring higher benefits for the Romanian state. He has said that in the absence of such a law, the Canadian investor might sue the Romanian state and might get the right to exploit the ores in Rosia Montana in less favourable conditions for the Romanian state.

Dan Sova: “The investor, who is denied the issuing of the environment certificate or other licenses, might apply to an arbitration court, be it the one in Vienna or the Washington Court, to ask for the release of the missing certificate to start mining.”

Attending the same hearings, Justice Minister, Robert Cazanciuc, has stated that the ministry has endorsed the draft law, as it does not violate any imperative provisions.