The defence legislation brings more accuracy to the role that the various bodies of the Romanian state have to play, Defence Minister Angel Tilvar told AGERPRES in an interview on Tuesday, informs Agerpres.
He mentioned a bill on the control of the use of national airspace and a bill on the conduct of military missions and operations on Romania's soil in peacetime - both sent to Parliament for approval - and also a national defence bill and a bill on preparing the public for defence - with these two being in the stage of seeking approval.
As for the defence of the national airspace, the minister said that debris of drones that were hit by the anti-aircraft defence of Ukraine fell on January 17 in Romania.
"There have been several events of this kind. Each time, we activated the procedures we have in such situations and from situation to situation, we took all the necessary measures, which is why you probably know that last year, when we had a similar incident, NATO Secretary General himself, Mr [Mark] Rutte appreciated the way in which Romania together with its allies act in such situations," the minister said.
Tilvar estimated that the two bills in the process of approval "at the beginning of this session will also find their place in the Romanian Parliament".
"Together they make sense, because each of these bills brings new elements to round up this legislative framework that is needed and which does nothing but specify and bring more accuracy to the role that the different bodies of the Romanian state have in such situations, because the Army is only a component of the way in which a country defends itself, including in such situations."
Tilvar added that there has never been a question of Romania shooting down drones in Ukraine's airspace.
"Such discussion does not exist at this moment and the issue has never been raised, because it is a decision that we will obviously take within the allied framework, taking into account the fact that Romania benefits, it is a security donor in its turn, but Romania benefits at this moment by belonging to the strongest military political alliance in the history of humankind. Romania is part of the Alliance, and the decisions we take in such situations, for logical reasons, for reasons of complementarity, if you will, are decisions that we take together with our allies."
The minister believes that the new legislative framework "will mark the end of a period in which, indeed, greater precision was needed."
The bill controlling the use of the national airspace is designed to establish a new framework for cooperation and coordination at the level of authorities and bodies with a jurisdiction over the management and monitoring of the national airspace.
The new perspective on controlling the use of the national airspace takes into account the realities of the current and future security environment. As a result of the illegal war unleashed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, a country with which Romania shares a border of significant length, it has become apparent that the scope of risks and threats to national security, the integrity of national airspace and aviation safety, the life and health of persons and property must be extended to include the new types of means of attack used.
The new piece of legislation will regulate the measures that Romania will be able to take to control the use of the national airspace, while establishing the authorities and bodies with a jurisdiction over taking measures to prevent and counteract the use of the national airspace, not only by aircraft, but also by unmanned aircraft systems - known in the public space by the generic term of drones - as well as other aerial vehicles that could be used in the future.
Through the additions and new provisions included, the bill will adapt the legislative framework at the disposal of the relevant authorities in order to ensure increased efficiency in terms of compliance with the rules of use of the national airspace, which will contribute to increasing aviation safety and security, including in situations such as those recorded in the last year, in which drones used by the Russian Federation in illegal attacks carried out against the Ukrainian civilian port infrastructure on the Danube or fragments thereof fell on Romania's soil, as well as for the cases of small unmanned aircraft that flew over the national territory for certain periods of time.
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