The Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) was transferred under parliamentary control, while the institution’s director will be named by Parliament for a five-year term. Also, the State Guard and Protection Service will be renamed the State Guard and Protection Center and will be managed by the Head of State and the SIS, but will keep its autonomy. The State Special Courier Service, which is responsible for the parliamentary, presidential and diplomatic correspondences that represents state secret, will also be managed by the SIS. A bill to this effect was passed by the MPs on December 9, IPN reports.
The head of the State Guard and Protection Center will be appointed by Parliament, at the suggestion of at least ten MPs. The same applies to the SIS director, who, until now, was named by Parliament at the suggestion of the Head of State. This will be dismissed by Parliament at the suggestion of one third of MPs.
The sentence “the work of the Service is coordinated by the President of the Republic of Moldova, within his powers, and is subject to parliamentary control” is modified into “the work of the Security and Intelligence Service is subject to parliamentary control”. This caused dissatisfaction among the Socialist MPs, who said that such a provision is aimed at depriving the Head of State, who is responsible for state security, of such an instrument as the SIS. They also said that Parliament must ensure control, not manage the SIS.
Dissatisfied with the way in which the debates on the bill were held, the Socialist and Liberal-Democratic MPs left the assembly hall of Parliament. However, the bill was passed in two readings, after 10pm, by a majority of votes.
