Spasovski between two fires over the counter-intelligence reform

Almost one hundred amendments have been submitted to the law, which provides for the formation of a new security agency, which practically puts a “lock on the door” of the current UBK and this sector is separated from the MOI and goes under the government’s authority.
Most of the amendments, close to 50, according to the information, have been synchronized between the working groups of SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE, led by Interior Minister Oliver Spasovski and former Acting Prime Minister Emil Dimitriev, who is now chair of the Committee for Supervising the Work of the Security and Counter-Intelligence Directorate and the Intelligence Agency. Therefore, about 35 amendments are from SDSM MPs who propose interventions in the text of the law that, according to information, are contrary to the draft amendments that have been synchronized by Spasovski and Dimitriev. Among the proposers of these amendments are supposedly Deputy Parliament Speaker Frosina Remenski, Muhamed Zekiri, Ilija Nikolovski, and other MPs from the SDSM coalition. Fifteen amendments were also submitted by the independent parliamentary group.
The law on the security agency is taken by a two-thirds majority, and the pending debate on it should start early today morning at the Committee on Defense and Security. On the agenda of the committee’s session is the second law on reform of the security sector, that is, the regulation for coordination of the intelligence community in the country, for which, in turn, only a few amendments were proposed.
“Given that we are talking about very important reform laws, in my opinion, what is most important for them is providing political consensus, regardless of what kind of majority is needed for these laws to be adopted,” said SDSM’s Hari Lokvenec, chairman of the Committee on Defense and Security.
VMRO-DPMNE coordinator Nikola Micevski confirms that in the inter-party working groups a large part of the provisions that were debated in March this year were disputable for the opposition, which has therefore abstained from the two reform laws when they were in the first phase of the procedure. He says he does not participate in the working groups, but announces the coordination of the group in the morning to agree on how the group will act in the course of the amendment debate, and then on the adoption of the laws of the parliamentary session.
Dimitriev told Nezavisen Vesnik that they agreed on about 40 joint amendments in the working groups with SDSM, but, as he said, it should be seen what will be the final version of the laws before they are put to the vote before the parliamentary plenum.
Deputy Prime Minister Spasovski, in the course of the amendment debate, should basically decide whether he would accept the amendments submitted by some of his party colleagues in the legislature. In case he decides to accept them, this, on the other hand, would mean rejection of the amendments that he himself synchronized with representatives of VMRO-DPMNE, in an attempt to secure a two-thirds majority. If, however, they reject the amendments of SDSM MPs, it is questionable whether they will engage in supporting the new security agency law to contribute to securing the two-thirds quorum.
According to the information, these are two different concepts about how the intelligence sector should function in the future. In general, contrary to the opposition, which insists on greater involvement of the Parliamentary Committee on surveillance of the work of the counter-intelligence services, especially in the selection of staff in the new security agency, some of the ruling MPs believe that politics should be exempted in this case. Allegedly, one of the synchronized amendments stipulates in the body for selection of staffing for the new agency to be members of the Committee for Supervision of UBK and counter-intelligence agency, but without the right to vote. This is disputable for some of the SDSM MPs, explaining that this will hinder the civilian control over the counter-intelligence agency that this committee has commissioned, it will be given greater control of VMRO-DPMNE on the staffing issues, especially if one takes into account that the head of this body is former Parliament Speaker Trajko Veljanoski, who, among other things, is under investigation as one of the possible organizers of the violent events on April 27, 2017.
Another controversial issue is the so-called vetting in the counter-intelligence sector, which would be practically realized by closing the UBK and forming a new security agency, since the staff of the Office will not automatically switch to the agency, but will have to apply for the job and go through strict selection. In that part, in the working groups, according to the information, a synchronized amendment according to which the employees of the UBK will have the opportunity once again to apply for a position in the agency, if they are initially rejected, and pass two different levels of selection. If they do not pass the selection for the second time in the agency, they would be provided with a job in the state administration so that they are not left without a job. In contrast, ruling lawmakers believe that a so-called vetting is necessary so that members of the counter-intelligence community who will be found ineligible to continue working in this sector will be considered ineligible for the administration work, as well.
According to what has been synchronized in the working groups, the new agency is planned to start working by early September, ie until then, a selection of staff should be made, as opposed to the initial projection according to which the agency was supposed to start working by early June. Therefore, by the end of May, the first director of this agency should be appointed as proposed by Prime Minister Zoran, but with the consent of the Parliamentary Committee for Supervising the Work of the Security and Counter-Intelligence Directorate and the Intelligence Agency, headed by Veljanoski of the opposition VMRO-DPMNE. The first possible names for the director of the agency are circulating the public, for which the text of the law envisages very high criteria. However, the main issue is whether the election of a new director will be carried out by the end of this month, as planned, given the multitude of amendments and basically opposing positions in the ruling coalition, which may delay the procedure for passing the laws on reform of the counter-intelligence sector, but also call the consensus into question.

The Committee on Security – a strategic link in counter-intelligence

As for the new law that establishes coordination between the intelligence services in the country, that is, between the new security agency, the Counter-Intelligence and Military Intelligence Agency, according to the information, a solution has been agreed that only coordination at the operational level can be realized through the so-called coordination council. At the strategic level, however, coordination would take place through the Security Council, chaired by the head of state.
Soon, the country’s new President Pendarovski will have to appoint three foreign members of the Security Council, which are the prime minister, the parliament speaker and the ministers of internal and foreign affairs, and defense. When appointing external members, the president should beware of the principle of equitable ethnic representation, that is, one of his choices should be ethnic Albanian. Also, Pendarovski, during his presidential campaign, left an open opportunity to have a representative of the opposition in the Council.
According to information, it was agreed to draft a law for the Security Council among the working groups for reform of the counter-intelligence services, as this body is currently regulated only by the Constitution. It is also agreed to pass a law on parliamentary surveillance of the services, as well as a special law on the Intelligence Agency, which allegedly was prepared by the Ministry of Justice in the past, and it refers to the service that is under the authority of the head of state. However, the plan for the preparation of these laws is now reportedly on stand-by, due to the amendments submitted by some of the SDSM MPs, which are contrary to the concept agreed by the working groups under the leadership of Oliver Spasovski and Emil Dimitriev.

Aleksandra M. Mitevska