Marius Oprea, the Romanian PM's national security adviser, claims in his interview to ZIUA that the President of Romania would like the secret services to have discretionary powers. Oprea thinks this is the reason why the President is dissatisfied with the present version of the new national security law. Here is the interview. Rep.: President Basescu has announced the security laws are "rather poor" and will need substantial amendments. How do you comment? M.O.: The laws are not as poor as the President thinks and amendments are up to the Parliament and no one else. If the laws are poor it means we have got poor civil society and press, because we included the suggestions from the latter in the version from Cotroceni. Rep.: Do you think Justice minister Monica Macovei is right to claim that there is need for consent from the Superior Council of National Defense first and then the government will pass the security laws? M.O.: I don't want to make more comments on Monica Macovei. Let me tell you just one thing: I am sad that politics can destroy a long lasting friendship. Rep.: Still what is your opinion on the reason for the President's dissatisfaction with these law projects? M.O.: The President is probably angry because the services are left without their business, without means to intercept phone calls without permit and so on. We based it all on democratic principles, not on the services' almightiness. This is actually about one thing: the President is the adept of services like Bush's: we sack you all to eliminate terrorism, for instance. But my view is European and it starts from citizen's security. (M.T.)