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 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" (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;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. . 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 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 NameGroupRoleHouseTook officeLorenzo GueriniDemocratic PartyPresidentChamber of Deputies21 November 2022Giovanni DonzelliBrothers of ItalyVice President21 November 2022Ettore RosatoAction – PERSecretary21 November 2022Marco PellegriniFive Star MovementMember21 November 2022Angelo RossiBrothers of ItalyMember21 November 2022Ester MieliBrothers of ItalyMemberSenate of the Republic3 July 2024Claudio BorghiLeagueMember17 November 2022Enrico BorghiItalia VivaMember17 November 2022Licia RonzulliForza ItaliaMember17 November 2022Roberto ScarpinatoFive Star MovementMember17 November 2022
List of presidents Portrait Name(Born–Died) Term of office Party LegislatureTook officeLeft officeTime in officeClaudio Scajola(1948– ) 1 August 2007 29 April 2008 Forza ItaliaXVFrancesco Rutelli(1954– ) 22 May 2008 12 November 2009 Democratic PartyXVI Massimo D'Alema(1949– ) 26 January 2010 15 March 2013 Democratic PartyGiacomo Stucchi(1969– ) 6 June 2013 22 March 2018 Northern League /LeagueXVII Lorenzo Guerini(1966– ) 18 July 2018 4 September 2019 Democratic PartyXVIII Raffaele Volpi(1960– ) 9 October 2019 20 May 2021 League Adolfo Urso(1957– ) 9 June 2021 12 October 2022 Brothers of Italy Lorenzo Guerini(1966– ) 6 December 2022 Incumbent Democratic PartyXIX
References
External links The Italian Intelligence and Security Services Official Website - COPACO The Italian Intelligence and Security Services Official Website - Home Page