CCR is debating today the approval law for the implementation of the SAFE Program, challenged by 53 deputies
The Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) is analyzing on Thursday the complaint of unconstitutionality filed by 53 deputies against the law approving Emergency Ordinance no. 21/2026, normative act that modifies the legal framework for the implementation of the SAFE Program, intended to strengthen the European defense industry.
The Constitutional Court of Romania. PHOTO: INQUAM Photos / Octav Ganea
The notification was submitted to the CCR on May 27 and concerns both the law as a whole and certain provisions which, according to the authors, go beyond the regulatory object of the SAFE Instrument and introduce changes in areas not directly related to it.
According to a statement sent by the leader of the SOS Romania parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies, Simona Macovei Ilie, the contested law was adopted in an emergency procedure and is currently in the stage of constitutionality control prior to promulgation.
The parliamentarians claim that Emergency Ordinance no. 21/2026 is not limited to the measures necessary to implement the European regulation on the Instrument “Action for the security of Europe” (SAFE), but includes provisions related to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), local public administration, public office, the Administrative Code and the public procurement regime.
In motivating the referral, the authors claim the violation of some constitutional provisions related to the rule of law, the quality of the law, the separation of powers in the state, the role of Parliament, the conditions for adopting emergency ordinances, the autonomy of local public administration and the rules regarding the national public budget.
They also claim that the regulatory mechanism established by GEO no. 21/2026 goes beyond the implementation framework of the SAFE Instrument by introducing heterogeneous provisions, without a direct and necessary connection with the object of the European regulation.
“We ask the Constitutional Court to admit this referral and to find that the criticized law is unconstitutional as a whole. In the alternative, we ask the Court to find the unconstitutionality of the provisions by which Government Emergency Ordinance No. 21/2026 regulates matters outside the scope of the SAFE Instrument”, it is shown in the notification submitted to the CCR.
Among the challenged provisions are those related to PNRR, local public administration, the maximum number of posts in administrative-territorial units, the swearing-in of local elected officials, the public office, as well as exemptions regarding public procurement and ongoing contracts.
The decision of the Constitutional Court will determine whether the law can be promulgated in the form adopted by Parliament or whether it must be sent back to the legislature for changes.
