site.btaParliament Overrides Presidential Veto on Special Intelligence Means Act Amendments

Parliament overrode the President’s veto to vote through amendments to Special Intelligence Means Act with 124 votes in favor, 75 against, and no abstentions.

Under the amendments, the Chairperson of the State Agency for Technical Operations (SATO) will now be elected by the National Assembly upon a proposal from the Council of Ministers. Until now, the SATO Chairperson was appointed by a presidential decree, also based on a government proposal. In addition, the head of the agency responsible for the application of special intelligence means will now be assisted by three deputy chairpersons appointed by the Prime Minister, up from two previously.

On October 22, President Rumen Radev returned the law, adopted on October 10, for reconsideration by Parliament. In his reasoning, the head of state noted that, similar to previous amendments concerning the heads of the State Agency for National Security (SANS) and the State Intelligence Agency, the proposed change creates a risk of repoliticizing the selection process for senior management positions in the national security system, making them fully dependent on the ruling political majority.