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The Senate's President, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, co-Chair of the Romanian Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) announced he will lodge with Parliament a draft law on the establishment of a National Authority for Communications Wiretapping.
"The National Authority for Communications Wiretapping is set, as an informative authority, as legal person, autonomous and independent from any other authority of the public administration under Parliament's control, with competence on Romania's soil, unique and exclusive in communications wiretapping," says the bill.
According to the draft law, the president and vice-president of the said authority are appointed by Senate and Chamber of Deputies in plenary sitting for a one-time 6-year term.
"Our basic obligation as liberals and MPs is to fight for the rights and freedoms of the individuals," said Tariceanu on Tuesday in the Senate.
According to him, it is not the place for the Prosecutor's Office to wiretap.
"In a country where the citizens' rights and freedoms are observed, we cannot let such operation to the intelligence services, nor to the prosecutors. Therefore, the Prosecutor's Office will be first beneficiary even if it has hastily made its own service. It doesn't matter. The people, the gear, if exist, legally speaking, another entity is set and they move there, and then we'll be sure there is no rigged evidence, as it has recently happened plus the other issues resulting from here. One example: what happens with the wiretapping connected to a criminal investigation under way? Who is storing it, is anybody using it, is anybody using it 8 years from now, the wiretapping linked to one's private life?" said Tariceanu.
When asked if the National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) and the Prosecutor's Office should put their own wiretapping services under the Authority, Tariceanu answered in the affirmative.
As for the secret services, the Senate's President said that what concerns the national security could be their jurisdiction.
"The pattern we suggest is not unique; it is also used in other countries of Europe and in the USA, where the concern for human rights is paramount. Countries with greater national security problems than Romania, countries that are confronted with terrorism activities do have at the same time the concern to keep this component referring to the citizens' freedom," the Senate President added.
In his opinion, such authority is necessary "so that what happened in the past, when the intelligence services played the judiciary would not happen anymore."
"I want us to enter normalcy, where the Romanian citizens feel at home, and not terrorized, not frightened not in that atmosphere that ruled Romania in the '50-'60. (...) I believe that the reform of the state means to amend the faulty functioning of some institutions," concluded Tariceanu.AGERPRES
