15:01 17.09.2020

Rada adopts law on intelligence

3 min read
Rada adopts law on intelligence

 The Verkhovna Rada adopted at second reading bill No. 2412-d on intelligence.

According to a correspondent of Interfax-Ukraine, some 258 MPs voted for the document.

As the authors of the bill say, the norm has been brought into line with the Constitution of Ukraine, according to which the NSDC coordinates and controls the activities of executive authorities in the national security and defense. The remarks of experts were taken into account and the Security Service of Ukraine was excluded from the list of intelligence agencies, but in order to coordinate the activities and prevent interdepartmental conflicts of a special purpose body with law enforcement functions and intelligence agencies, the Security Service of Ukraine was identified as a subject of the intelligence community.

According to the text of the document, the operational units of the Central Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine carrying out counterintelligence activities, in accordance with this document, will be able to conduct intelligence activities in order to obtain information in the interests of counterintelligence. The list of such units is determined by the President of Ukraine.

The bill defines the legal and organizational basis for the functioning of intelligence, the legal status and social guarantees of employees of the intelligence agencies of Ukraine and persons involved in the performance of intelligence tasks, as well as the procedure for exercising control over intelligence.

According to the bill, intelligence is an organizational and functional combination of intelligence agencies defined by this law and activities that they carry out independently or in cooperation with each other and with other subjects of the intelligence community in order to ensure the national security and defense of Ukraine.

The main tasks of intelligence are the timely provision of consumers with intelligence information, assistance in the implementation of the national interests of Ukraine and countering external threats to the national security of Ukraine in the areas specified by law.

At the same time, the consumers of intelligence information, according to the law, are primarily the president of Ukraine, the chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, the chairman and members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, the prime minister, members and secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.

"In this bill, we just delimit and clearly define intelligence agencies, this is the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, the Foreign Intelligence Service, military intelligence and border guards. All the rest is only an exchange of information," MP from the Servant of the People faction and member of the profile committee Maryana Bezuhla said.

According to her, the document strengthens the powers of the president as the head of intelligence agencies. Intelligence agencies are directly controlled by their leaders, who are appointed and dismissed by the president.

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