SP MP Erion Braçe did not vote for the 11 new parliamentary committees during Tuesday's session in the Assembly.
He argued two main reasons for his refusal.
First, Brace expressed his disagreement with the lack of establishing a commission on issues of disinformation and foreign interference, which was part of the strategy adopted by the previous legislature.
He emphasized that this commission was clearly foreseen in the document, but was now left out of the list of new commissions, despite the importance of the issue for the security and integrity of the country.
Secondly, Braçe criticized the selection of the committees, which he said were personalized and clientelistic, emphasizing that he had not sought any personal position within them.
"It is related to the work that was done in the last year of the last legislature here in the Assembly on the issues of disinformation, misinformation, and malicious foreign interference in society and the economy. This is the strategy, the best document that the Assembly could have approved during the last legislature. A strategy drafted not only with local experts, but also with the full assistance of the European Commission, the European Union, the OSCE, and many other important factors that prioritize the issues of disinformation, misinformation, and malicious foreign interference. For a period of time, we had it, too, and it was taken up with great momentum, I was called upon, you should do this because you know how to do it. Then no one helped, no one spoke, no one read, and no one evaluated the work that was done and the document that was approved. But in the roadmap that accompanies the document, it is clearly stated and it was voted in the Assembly that there will be a parliamentary committee specifically for this issue. Now "All the work done, the documents are serving as an example for countries around us, now the proposal disappears, the commission disappears," he said.
The second reason, for MP Braçe, is related to the new committees, which he says he does not agree with and which appear to be clientelistic.
"The second reason, I was definitely against that list of committees that seemed almost personalized and clientelistic to me in the conditions when in principle a committee considered necessary disappears from that list. I had absolutely no personal claims. I did not ask anyone, especially the one who decides on such things, to be the chairman of this committee or any other committee. I think that the issue of misinformation and malicious foreign interference in society, the economy and elections is an issue that has not changed. That was the reason", the MP claimed.
The new commissions were approved in the Assembly with 79 votes in favor, of which 7 will be led by the majority and 4 by the opposition.