SPECIAL Procedural steps following a possible CSAT decision to allow the deployment of American capabilities at Kogălniceanu base / What the law says

In the eventuality that CSAT approves the request of the United States to use the Mihail Kogălniceanu base for the deployment of military capabilities, the next step is that, based on Law 291/2007, the president issues the act that officially authorizes the entry and stationing of these capabilities. In short, the law states that for the preparation or conduct of military operations, the presence of foreign troops is decided by the head of state, after consulting CSAT, with the information – and, if there are no covering treaties, with the approval – of the Parliament.

Law 291/2007 clearly outlines the next steps. If it concerns the preparation or conduct of military operations, the entry, stationing, and transit of foreign forces is approved by the President, at the proposal of the Prime Minister, after consulting CSAT.

Practically, after the CSAT meeting:

1. The Prime Minister formulates a decision proposal to the President of Romania, in accordance with the conclusions of the Council. 2. The President decides whether to approve or not the request of the USA, based on Article 4 of Law 291/2007. 3. The decision is usually followed by a public statement from the Presidential Administration, which announces in broad lines what has been decided.

If the American operations are fully covered by treaties to which Romania is already a party, the President informs the Parliament about the decision within five days. If, on the contrary, the activities are not carried out based on such treaties, the President must seek the approval of the Parliament before approving the deployment.

This is the stake already publicly announced: a possible agreement in CSAT would open the way for a vote in Parliament, without which the mission cannot take place.

What does Law 291/2007 exactly say

Law 291/2007 is the "procedure manual" for foreign military presence in Romania. A few provisions are essential for the Kogălniceanu context:

Article 3: The establishment of foreign military bases or commands on the territory of Romania is done with the approval of the Parliament. (The Mihail Kogălniceanu Base, in its current form, is based on already approved agreements; a new base is not being created, but a new use of existing infrastructure is being requested.)

Article 4: For the preparation and/or conduct of military operations, entry/stationing/transit is approved by the President, at the proposal of the Prime Minister, after consulting CSAT. The President informs the Parliament about the decision; if there are no treaties covering the activities, he requests prior approval from the Parliament.

Article 5: For operations other than those in Article 4 (exercises, transit, other activities), the decision is usually made at the level of the Ministry of Defense for NATO/EU/PfP states or those with agreements in the field. This is not the case here, where the scenario is explicitly related to possible real military operations.

Article 8: The concrete details – number of soldiers, type of aircraft, armaments, duration, logistical and legal regime – are established through technical agreements between the Ministry of Defense and the sending party. In other words, the political side decides "yes or no", while military specialists and lawyers negotiate "how, with what, and for how long".

Does the President still need to seek the Parliament's approval?

The answer strictly depends on the legal basis of the mission, as qualified by the Romanian authorities. If the American mission at Kogălniceanu is covered by existing treaties (NATO, SOFA, the 2005 US-Romania agreement), from a strictly normative point of view, the President is not obliged to seek the Parliament's approval, but only to inform it.

The President must seek the Parliament's approval only if he assesses that the activities are not covered by the international treaties to which Romania is a party; otherwise, he informs the Parliament post factum. In the specific case of the US request for Kogălniceanu, the public signal is that the political power chooses the scenario with parliamentary voting, even if there are bilateral agreements and NATO, precisely because of the sensitive profile of the mission (support for interventions in the Middle East).

The role of the Parliament and what follows after CSAT

The law grants the Parliament two distinct roles.

The first is one of control and information: The Government must periodically inform the Parliament about the situation of foreign armed forces present on the territory of Romania. In the case of Kogălniceanu, a new American deployment should be included in these reports.

The second is the role of final decision-maker, when the activities of foreign forces are not covered by existing treaties or when there is a need to modify/terminate international agreements. In this scenario, after CSAT gives its agreement and the President expresses his intention, the Parliament must vote on the approval of the mission or the ratification of a new agreement.

Cited sources in the public space already say that a possible agreement in CSAT on March 11 would be followed by a vote in Parliament for the authorization of the use of the Kogălniceanu base by American aircraft. Without this vote, the operation cannot take place, even if there is a favorable political decision at the level of CSAT and the President.

Analysis conducted with the support of Perplexity

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