The acting leader of the main opposition party in Romania (USR), Cătălin Drulă, urged president Klaus Iohannis to repudiate the national security draft bills that were "written against the democratic principles and institutions will enshrine an absolute domination of the secret services over the Romanian public life."

"These projects, in their spirit and letter, represent the worst political slippage in recent years. Written in contempt of democratic principles and institutions, they will enshrine absolute domination of the secret services over Romanian public life. Citizens, companies, NGOs and civil servants will be the lower class, and the president and the secret services will be above the law and any democratic control," Catalin Drulă said in a Facebook post quoted by News.ro.

"Klaus Iohannis and his coalition want to put Romania on the same level as Belarus. A security republic. It's serious, it's dangerous, it's irresponsible!" Drulă wrote.

He urged the head of state to act with dignity and responsibility for the position for which he was elected.

"Yes, we need to modernize the legislative framework for national security. But in no way can we use this to create the conditions for a new dictatorship. I ask the President of Romania to clearly delimit himself from this slippage and, at least in the last minute, to act with the dignity and responsibility with which he is indebted to the position and the people who elected him," Drulă added.

(Photo: Cătălin Drulă Facebook Page)

andrei@romania-insider.com