The Senate adopted the law on airspace use control

The Senate has adopted, as the decision-making body, the draft law on the control of the use of Romania's airspace.

The document establishes the authorities and institutions that have competences in this field and introduces clear measures for air traffic management and monitoring, including unmanned aircraft.

The Senate also adopted the draft law regulating the conduct in peacetime of military missions and operations on the territory of the Romanian state, when there is no state of emergency, siege, mobilization or war.

According to the normative act, the designated structures of the Romanian Army, depending on operational needs, may be transferred, for specific periods of time, under different degrees of authority, in relation to the commander of foreign armed forces conducting a military operation on the territory of the Romanian state.

The Senate plenary heated debates between the ruling and opposition parties on the two bills.

SOS Romania, AUR and POT MPs called for the documents to be amended so that Romania's sovereignty would not be affected.

In the opinion of the opposition senators, with the exception of USR, handing over the command of the Romanian Army troops to allied partners would be an attack on Romania's sovereignty.

Gheorghe Vela, leader of the Young People's Party senators' group: We no longer have parliamentary control over the actions of foreign commanders and others. We become a mere appendage of the government, a mere wagon pulled behind a locomotive, and we are with the name 'senators'. The people sent us to take care of Romania.

In reply, Social Democrat senator Titus Corlatean explained why this provision cannot be removed from the law.

Titus Corlatean: After Romania's accession to NATO, we are in an integrated process, in an integrated structure. All NATO member states, in fact, have a supreme military commander, called SACEUR, he is the supreme commander of the allied forces in Europe. Romania, in the practice of these years, has been in the situation of assuming the command. The states taking part in the operations ceded command to Romania. So, we must understand that, beyond this rhetoric, which raises questions, and I agree that people need answers, we shouldn't play with people when we talk about serious things. Romania's national security is not negotiable.
The two pieces of legislation will be promulgated.

Translated by: Radu Matei