Draft law on airspace control - adopted by Senate as decision-making body

  The Senate plenary adopted on Wednesday, as a decision-making body, the draft legislation on airspace control.There were 79 votes 'in favor', 11 'against' and two abstentions.The legislative initiative aims to regulate a series of measures to control the use of national airspace, establishing the authorities and institutions that have powers to take measures to prevent and counteract the use of national airspace by aircraft, unmanned aircraft systems and other air vehicles.Thus will be created a new framework for cooperation and coordination among the authorities and institutions that have competence in the management and monitoring of national airspace, as well as in ensuring compliance with the rules of its use, something that contributes to increasing aviation safety and security.According to an amendment, the following are situations in which an aircraft makes unauthorized use of national airspace:* air traffic units or military services for surveillance and control of airspace use receive information about an act of unlawful interference on board the aircraft, even if the authorization received is respected;* air traffic units or military airspace surveillance and control services receive information about the presence on board aircraft of dangerous substances or materials that could be used in an act of terrorism;* the air traffic units or military airspace surveillance and control services receive information on the existence on board the aircraft of goods or persons who, in accordance with the obligations, commitments assumed by Romania under the international treaties to which it is a party or international sanctions instituted by the acts provided for in Art. 1 paragraph (1) of GEO no. 202/2008 on the implementation of international sanctions, approved with amendments by Law no. 217/2009, with subsequent amendments and additions, are subject to restrictions on the use of national airspace.Public and private persons who own, operate or manage targets that require protection measures against threats specific to unmanned aircraft systems have the obligation to implement and maintain measures to protect these targets, another amendment states.According to the draft law, by decision of the Supreme Council of National Defence the following are established: the objectives requiring protection measures against threats specific to unmanned aircraft systems envisaged in the draft law; the general technical requirements of the equipment and systems envisaged, at the proposal of the structures of the national defence, public order and national security system.Within 60 days from the date of entry into force of this law, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Foreign Intelligence Service, the Special Telecommunications Service and the Protection and Peacekeeping Service approve the joint orders on the general framework of cooperation regarding the measures taken in situations of unauthorized use of national airspace, procedural aspects regarding the coordination provided for in Art. 6 and 24, as well as the specific technical and operational standards for the technical equipment and systems necessary for the implementation of the protection measures, which shall be published in the Official Journal of Romania, Part I.