COPASIR
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Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic (Comitato Parlamentare per la Sicurezza della Repubblica, COPASIR) is a body of the Italian Parliament deputed to survey and oversee the activities of the Italian intelligence agencies.
History
[edit]Since the end of World War II, Italian intelligence agencies have been reorganized many times in an attempt to increase their effectiveness and bring them more fully under civilian control.
The committee was established as part of a broader reform of the Italian intelligence community, which represented the latest in a long string of government attempts to effectively manage Italy's intelligence agencies.
- In 1977, with Legislative Act n.801 of 24/10/1977, this came after a former chief of SID, Vito Miceli, was arrested for "conspiration against the State" (See Golpe Borghese), and the intelligence agencies were reorganized in a democratic attempt. This re-organization mainly consisted of:
- The split of SID, the intelligence agency at that time, into two separate agencies with different roles: SISDE (the domestic one) and SISMI (the military one).
- The creation of CESIS, with a coordination role between the two intelligence agencies and the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
- The creation of the Parliamentary Committee, COPACO, to oversee the activities of the two agencies.
- Since 1 August 2007, with Legislative Act n.124 of 08/03/2007, following the reform of the Italian intelligence agencies, SISDE, SISMI and CESIS were replaced respectively by AISI, AISE and DIS;[1] the COPACO was renamed COPASIR (Comitato Parlamentare per la Sicurezza della Repubblica, Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic) and granted additional oversight and control powers.
Mission
[edit]Following the reform of the Italian intelligence agencies approved on 1 August 2007, COPASIR. has the power to:
- Declassify State Secrets, but only if all members of the Committee agree with unanimity.
- Acquire acts and dossiers from judicial investigations, with the authority to overcome the professional secrecy, both of judicial and banking nature.
- Have free access to intelligence agencies' offices and documentations.
COPASIR is constituted by four Senators and four Deputies, designated proportionally by the Presidents of the two Chambers (the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic).
Current composition
[edit]| Name | Group | Role | House | Took office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorenzo Guerini | Democratic Party | President | Chamber of Deputies | 21 November 2022 | |
| Giovanni Donzelli | Brothers of Italy | Vice President | 21 November 2022 | ||
| Ettore Rosato | Action – PER | Secretary | 21 November 2022 | ||
| Marco Pellegrini | Five Star Movement | Member | 21 November 2022 | ||
| Angelo Rossi | Brothers of Italy | Member | 21 November 2022 | ||
| Ester Mieli[a] | Brothers of Italy | Member | Senate of the Republic | 3 July 2024 | |
| Claudio Borghi | League | Member | 17 November 2022 | ||
| Enrico Borghi | Italia Viva[b] | Member | 17 November 2022 | ||
| Licia Ronzulli | Forza Italia | Member | 17 November 2022 | ||
| Roberto Scarpinato | Five Star Movement | Member | 17 November 2022 | ||
- ^ Former member, Andrea Augello, died on 28 April 2023
- ^ Previously a member of the Democratic Party until 26 April 2023
List of presidents
[edit]| Portrait | Name (Born–Died) |
Term of office | Party | Legislature | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||||
|
Claudio Scajola (1948– ) |
1 August 2007 | 29 April 2008 | 272 days | Forza Italia | XV (2006) | |
|
Francesco Rutelli (1954– ) |
22 May 2008 | 12 November 2009 | 1 year, 174 days | Democratic Party | XVI (2008) | |
|
Massimo D'Alema (1949– ) |
26 January 2010 | 15 March 2013 | 3 years, 48 days | Democratic Party | ||
|
Giacomo Stucchi (1969– ) |
6 June 2013 | 22 March 2018 | 4 years, 289 days | Northern League / League |
XVII (2013) | |
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|
Lorenzo Guerini (1966– ) |
18 July 2018 | 4 September 2019 | 1 year, 48 days | Democratic Party | XVIII (2018) | |
|
Raffaele Volpi (1960– ) |
9 October 2019 | 20 May 2021 | 1 year, 223 days | League | ||
|
Adolfo Urso (1957– ) |
9 June 2021 | 12 October 2022 | 1 year, 125 days | Brothers of Italy | ||
|
|
Lorenzo Guerini (1966– ) |
6 December 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 20 days | Democratic Party | XIX (2022) | |
References
[edit]- ^ Legislative Act n.124 of 08/03/2007, reported on the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic, General Series, n.187 of 08/13/2007. [1][permanent dead link].(in Italian)