For the umpteenth time, hidden behind the necessary speed of European integration, the Government and the parliamentary majority are endangering our society, betraying state interests and our European future, an independent MP told "Vijesta" yesterday. Jevrosima Pejović, commenting on the Bill on Information Security.
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She emphasized that the accepted, "scandalous amendment" which foresees that people can be employed in the Cyber Security Agency without advertising and without any procedure is an additional dangerous thing.
She also pointed out that her amendment, which requested a minimum of protection for citizens, was not accepted - saying that "someone is comfortable with the possibility that employees of the executive branch can 'confiscate' computers and phones from parliamentary clubs, private companies, courts, prosecutor's offices, banks"...
That act was discussed yesterday in the Montenegrin parliament, and Pejović reminded during the discussion that it is one of the laws that is important for Montenegro to close Chapter 10. She said, however, that the task was to harmonize the law with EU legislation in that area, but that this was not respected, and that there was an "attempt to mislead the international public, the European Commission and the Embassy of Great Britain".
She pointed out that the law had to be under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense or the Ministry of the Interior, and not to create a "national security agency with Ali express".
"Colleagues do not allow the amendments to improve the legal solution and enable the implementation of the NIS2 directive. I will remind you that the minimum protection that should be enjoyed by all EU citizens is contained in the directives. The directive strictly mandates that this law does not apply to the Parliament, the Central Bank and the judiciary, and I quoted that provision from the directive when proposing the amendment. However, someone is comfortable with the possibility that employees from the executive branch can 'confiscate' computers and phones from parliamentary clubs, private companies, courts, prosecutor's offices, banks," said Pejović...
She said that this could lead to unforeseeable consequences: "Because at some point, when it is politically opportune, under the pretext of this directive, the ruling majority will be able to classify the work of the parliament as secret information." So the public will not have the opportunity to follow our work".
"An additional dangerous thing is the scandalous amendment that was accepted, which foresees that people can be employed in the Agency for Cyber Security without advertising and without any procedure. These persons, who will have the authority to take computers and phones from courts, prosecutor's offices and banks, will not be employed transparently and will not undergo a security assessment. At a time when we read on the sky how vulnerable our security system is, this behavior of parliamentarians is a betrayal of state interests and our European future," said Pejović.
She explained that she based the amendment on the recommendations from the NOS2 directive, that is, the article which stipulates that the judiciary, parliament or central banks do not fall under the supervision of that agency...
Sporan amandman
On behalf of the proponent of the law, the Minister of Public Administration Marash Dukaj he said yesterday that the proposed law on information security introduces European Union standards into the Montenegrin system, stating that Montenegro is the first country in the Western Balkans to apply EU directives in that area.
He asserted that this law is comprehensive because it covers the entire field of information society, and that its important aspect is cyber security, which is clearly defined by the proposed law.
He said that such a legal act was made under the auspices of the Embassy of Great Britain, prepared in an inclusive manner and that this was confirmed by the relevant international partners.
"I regret that it was not adopted earlier, today we would be at a serious advantage in relation to the needs of our cyber resilience, but also in the negotiation process... We must build institutions and make them more resilient, to show credibility as a NATO member", said Dukaj , adding that cyber security is important for this.
After the discussion, he said that the law is not a holy book, stating that this is why the deputies' amendment was accepted Nikola Camaja.
That amendment stipulates that employees of the "cyber security" program are employed without public advertising and without a personnel plan, based on the act on internal organization and systematization. Also, Camaj acted as an amendment to the salaries and other incomes of the directors and employees of the future Agency for Cyber Security, proposing that they be determined by the decision of the Agency's competent body, in accordance with the law.
Camaj explained why he is seeking an exception from employment in accordance with the procedure prescribed by the Law on Civil Servants and State Employees who fill positions in bodies that perform security tasks in a different way - because it is necessary to provide employees as soon as possible.
It was precisely this amendment that MP Pejović criticized, pointing out that in such a loose system, someone can enter the system through a wide door, without any checks by the National Security Agency:
"It can be financed or motivated by criminal groups and that someone can have access to our data," said Pejović in the plenary hall.
I Filip Adzic from the Citizens' Movement URA said that the representatives of the ruling majority are violating the proposed legal solutions and are using the goodwill of a large number of opposition MPs who want to speed up the European path.
"I would also say that with this legal solution, through certain changes proposed by the deputies, we come to a situation where we do not create trust of citizens in the institution that should be established with this legal solution", he said.
Sladjana Kaluđerović from the Socialist People's Party reminded that in EU countries, the Ministry of Public Administration (MJU) is not in charge of cyber security, and not even in the United States, where the Agency for Cyber Security is under the Ministry of Defense.
She asked how the future agency for cyber security will be independent if it is under the authority of the Ministry of Justice, and if the minister nominates the chairman of the council of that agency.
Open space for political manipulations
Deputy of the Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS) Ivan Vuković said in the parliamentary hall that the provisions in the law, which refer to the position of the director of the Cyber Security Agency, open the way for it to be a political appointment.
He pointed out that the provision of experience in the field of cyber security for selection to the position of director is relativized, adding that it is possible to get into a situation where the state's cyber security is being taken care of by someone who is not an expert in it.
Dukaj explained that the conditions for appointing a director are set broadly because Montenegro, like many larger countries, lacks staff, stressing that someone who is a political figure will not be appointed to that position - if he is a minister and if it depends on him .
MP of the New Serbian Democracy (NSD) Dejan Đurović said that the people who will work in the Cyber Security Agency, which should be formed, must be independent and professional. His colleague from NSD, Jovan Vučurović, said that it is necessary to adopt the Law as soon as possible and start its implementation, that is, that everything should be done to protect the state from cybercrime as soon as possible.
"The agency must not be misused for political purposes," he said.
Nikola Janović (DPS) said that the safety of citizens, including cyber security, must come first, but also that Montenegro, as a member of NATO, must take care of data protection.
Nađa Laković, Member of Parliament for the Europe Now Movement, said that the proposed law represents a key step in strengthening the digital infrastructure and protecting critical systems.
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