Radio România Internațional

Tag: Romanian Intelligence Service

  • July 3, 2023

    July 3, 2023

    Schengen. Spain supports Romanias accession to the Schengen Area, the Spanish Ambassador to Bucharest, José Antonio Hernández Pérez-Solórzano, has stated. At the press conference hosted by the office of the European Commission Representation in Romania , which marked the taking over, by Spain, of the six-month presidency of the EU Council, he stated that the issue of Romanias and Bulgarias accession to Schengen will be put on the agenda of the Justice and Home Affairs Council most likely this fall. “It is a priority of our presidency to include Romania and Bulgaria in the Schengen Area”, added the official. In turn, the Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luminita Odobescu, said that the Schengen Area will be stronger when Romania becomes a full member. The European Commission believes that Bucharest has been prepared for several years to join the Schengen area and has met all the requirements, and the European Parliament has given a clear signal of support. MEPs believe that the decision to leave Romania and Bulgaria outside the free movement area is discriminatory, both for the residents of the two countries and for the diaspora.



    Visit. The first visit to the West by the Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu will take place this week to Germany, where he will meet with the Chancellor Olaf Scholz. In addition to the bilateral economic relationship, which the officials in Bucharest call exceptional, the discussions will also focus on the issue of security. Prime Minister Ciolacu will be accompanied on his visit to Berlin by several ministers, including the Minister of Defence, Angel Tâlvăr. Last year, Romania was visited twice by the federal president, Franz Walter Steinmeier and, for the first time, in April, by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Last month, shortly after the investiture, Ciolacu made his first visit abroad to the neighboring Republic of Moldova (ex-Soviet, majority Romanian-speaking), where he reiterated Romanias support for that countrys European path.



    SRI. The head of the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), Eduard Hellvig, has announced his resignation today “I believe that since I have achieved my proposed objectives, there is no reason to keep holding this office. We have managed to restructure the institution, promoted a new generation in management positions and made available to society information from the Former Securitate Archives”, Hellvig says in a statement for the press. Eduard Hellvig was appointed Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service in 2015.



    Ship. The training ship “Mircea” of the Romanian Navy left, today, from the Constanţa Military Port (south-east, on the Black Sea) on an international training march. It has on board 67 students from the “Mircea cel Batran” Naval Academy and 12 foreign students from partner academies from Bulgaria, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Latvia, Spain and Italy. The training march will last 28 days, during which the sailing ship will dock in three ports: Piraeus in Greece, Taranto in Italy and Izmir in Turkey. In all these ports, the sailboat will be open for visits. The training ship will return to Constanta on July 31.



    Paris. France had a night of relative calm, without major incidents, after the violence during the week, caused by the death of a teenager shot dead by the police at a traffic control, in the Paris region. Law enforcement maintained a massive presence on the streets, and the young mans relatives publicly spoke out against the looting and destruction triggered by protests and called for an end to the riots. In five nights of protests, the authorities counted 5,000 burned vehicles, almost 1,000 burned or damaged buildings and 250 attacks on police and gendarmerie stations. According to the correspondent of Radio Romania in Paris, the most affected are the public buildings – schools, town halls, offices of some institutions -, which were devastated and set on fire. Over 700 shops and 250 bank agencies were broken into and looted throughout the country. Inspired by the riots in France, more than 100 young people of African descent gathered in the center of the city of Lausanne, in neighboring Switzerland, and attacked several shops, with the intention of robbing them. The police detained seven people, including six minors.



    Tennis. Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, 29th seed, will play her first match at the Wimbledon tournament, the third Grand Slam of the year, against a player from Canada, Rebecca Marino. This will be the first confrontation between Begu (32 years old, 29 WTA) and Marino (32 years old, 83 WTA). Sorana Cîrstea (33 years old, 36 WTA) will take on the German athlete Tatjana Maria (35 years old, 58 WTA), last years semi-finalist in the London tournament. Cîrstea leads 3-1 in direct matches. Ana Bogdan (30 years old, 61 WTA) will have a difficult match in the first round, against the Russian Liudmila Samsonova (24 years old, 15 WTA). Jaqueline Cristian (25 years old, 133 WTA) also entered the main draw, thanks to the protected ranking, and in the first round she will face the Italian Lucia Bronzetti (24 years old, 65 WTA). Canadian player of Romanian origin Bianca Andreescu will play against the Hungarian Anna Bondar in the first round. (MI)


  • SRI declassifies the Revolution files

    SRI declassifies the Revolution files

    33 years since the anti-communist revolution, the Romanian Intelligence
    Service (SRI) has declassified all documents concerning the events of 1989. 13
    volumes with copies of archive pages, correspondence, reports and notifications
    compiled by the Securitate, the communist secret police, are included in the
    archive. One of the volumes comprises messages sent by the Securitate to the National
    Television Station, one of the focal points of the revolution. In one such
    message, Securitate officers expressed support for ousting Ceaușescu. The
    message never reached the public however, but Securitate officers expressed
    readiness to come in person to the radio and TV public broadcasters to support
    this move.

    SRI Director Eduard Hellvig recalls that, unfortunately, millions of
    Romanians still want the truth about the events of 1989 in order to close once
    and for all one of the darkest chapters in Romanian history. In turn, president
    Klaus Iohannis said that failing to bring to serve justice for the crimes of
    the Revolution remains a vulnerability of our society that further fuels pain
    and frustration. This summer, the Revolution investigation, whereby former
    president Ion Iliescu, former deputy Prime Minister Gelu Voican Voiculescu and
    former General Iosif Rus, the head of the Military Aviation at the time, stand
    accused of crimes against humanity, was sent back to the Supreme Court. At
    first the case was registered at the Supreme Court in 2019, but judges referred
    it back to the Military Prosecutor’s Office for correcting several issues in
    the indictment. Military prosecutors say Ion Iliescu’s inner circle acted
    skillfully and effectively to take over the political and military power reins
    in December 1989. Iliescu reportedly misled the public constantly, repeatedly
    and systematically.

    A far-reaching nationwide and carefully planned military
    action of unprecedented scope designed to misinform the audiences was carried
    out across Romania, prosecutors say. This led to generating and amplifying
    terrorism psychosis, which eventually brought many people to their graves.
    Romania’s entire military force was allegedly at the whim of the National
    Salvation Front (FSN) Council, a provisional authority that subsequently grew
    into a political party, led by Ion Iliescu. In May 1990, Iliescu was elected
    president of Romania. He secured another two terms, over 1992-1996 and
    2000-2004. Over the years, FSN evolved into PDSR, and then PSD, which is a part
    of the current ruling coalition. (VP)









  • April 4, 2018

    April 4, 2018

    PROTOCOLS — The Superior Council of Magistracy, the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the Judicial Inspection Corps have signed protocols with the Romanian intelligence structures- Bucharest sources say. Representatives of the Superior Council of Magistracy signed a protocol with the Romanian Intelligence Service, SRI, in 2012, but it was terminated in 2017. In its turn, the Judicial Inspection Corps signed a similar protocol in 2016, just like the High Court of Cassation. These clarifications are made public in the wake of a scandal which broke out last week, following the publication of a protocol signed in 2009 by the Romanian Intelligence Service and the Office of the Prosecutor General, based on which SRI had provided assistance to prosecutors for seven years.



    MOTION – The simple motion initiated by the National Liberal Party, in opposition, against the Culture Minister, George Ivaşcu, has been rejected today in a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies with the Romanian Parliament, just a day after the document was debated in a plenary session of Parliament. The Liberals deplore what they call negligence in preparing the events devoted to the 100th anniversary of the Great Union and voice concern about the Government’s inability to properly organise the December 1 celebrations. They also say a public debate meant to find solutions and reconsider a national plan devoted to the Great Union Centennial is needed. In response, the Culture Minister, George Ivaşcu, gave assurances that he is constantly concerned about how to efficiently organise the celebrations devoted to all Romanians.



    CENTRAL BANK — The National Bank of Romania has today decided to maintain the monetary policy interest rate at 2.25%, against the expectations of most analysts, who anticipated an increase in figures. The central bank has also decided to maintain the earned deposit interest rate at 1.25% per year and the credit interest rate at 3.25% per year. The Board of Directors of the National Bank of Romania has also decided to maintain the current level of the mandatory minimum reserves for liabilities in the national currency, the leu, as well as in hard currency for crediting institutions.



    UNEMPLOYMENT – The unemployment rate in Romania in February stood at 4.6%, the same level as in the previous month, a communiqué issued by the National Institute of Statistics shows. The number of the unemployed stood at 419,000 people in February, lower than in the previous month. In terms of gender, the unemployment rate among men exceeded by 0.8% the rate among women, standing at 4.9% in the case of men, and at 4.1% of women, respectively.



    ENCYCLOPAEDIA — A digital encyclopaedia devoted to outstanding personalities and historical moments which paved the way for the Great Union of December 1918 has been launched in Bucharest. It contains rare photographs, video clips and 3D images featuring significant historical moments. The “Romania 1918” app can be used free of charge and can be downloaded from the web. The encyclopaedia is available in Romanian and English, with a French version being under construction.



    FRENCH RAILWAY NETWORK DISRUPTION — France’s rail traffic has been severely disrupted today, as a wave of strikes against President Emmanuel Macrons labor reforms gets under way. The unions say some of the plans to overhaul the French state railway, SNCF, would allegedly lead to redundancies and limit the current rights of the railway staff. If no solution is found to the issue, the strike might continue until the end of June, with traffic being severely disrupted for more than 30 days. Only one in seven high-speed trains, TGVs, and one in five regional trains will be running today, on an average.

  • A legal action has been launched following the cyber attack on Friday

    A legal action has been launched following the cyber attack on Friday

    According to the authorities in Bucharest, the servers of the Romanian public institutions, including those of the Government, the Fiscal authority or the Customs Office have not been affected by the cyber attack Romania has recently seen. Anton Rog, the head of the Cyberint National Centre, an institution coordinated by the Romanian Intelligence Service, speaks about the incident:



    “The systems are fully operational, the customs check-points are functional and so are the apps used by the National Fiscal Administration Agency. The service has been previously notified about this attack and took all the necessary measures for the 54 public institutions under its protection. Our service has sent them all the procedures they had to follow, the packages they had to download and install in order to avoid this kind of problems. It was a spear phishing attack, sent through e-mails. Once the mail opened a certain type of virus, a malware programme was launched with the view to extracting data from the infected servers. Right now the institutions we are protecting have already applied the security programmes from the producer, taking all the procedural measures and we can say the situation now has improved. In terms of scope, however, this was the biggest attack at world level. There are thousands of such attacks on a daily basis and Romania is no exception to the rule.



    Romanias National Bank hasnt been affected either. However, preemptive measures are needed as the threat of fresh cyber attacks is even bigger than a typical global financial crisis. Here is Central Bank governor Mugur Isarescu:



    “Many central banks have developed real security systems in the field and we are making efforts together with the state authorities to control the phenomenon.



    Although public institutions have been protected there were other victims such as the Romanian carmaker Dacia Renault, which, amid an intense IT crisis at the end of last week, had to halt production and send workers at home. The National Centre for Response to Cyber Security Incidents (CERT-RO) has received no less than 300 reports. Here is Mihai Rotariu, cyber-security consultant with CERT-RO.



    We have so far received around 322 IPs, but that doesnt necessarily mean there are 322 victims infected. We dont know for sure how many victims are behind these IP addresses. The trend cannot be assessed as nobody has to report these incidents to CERT-RO, but it signals all users to comply with minimal cyber-security norms, particularly when it comes to updating systems and making backups on external storage devices, which should be later detached from the operating work stations.



    In parallel, prosecutors with the Bucharest-based Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) have launched an investigation into the cyber-attacks. They are waiting to get information in this respect from the Romanian Intelligence Service but also for the people affected to press charges. (Translated by D. Bilt)

  • The Week in Review: January 23-27

    The Week in Review: January 23-27

    A new CVM report for Romania.


    The Cooperation
    and Verification Mechanism (CVM) monitoring reform of the judiciary and the
    fight against corruption remains in place this year. Released on Wednesday, the
    European Commission report highlights the positive trends and the irreversible
    character of the measures taken so far in this respect. In the past 10 years of
    EU membership, despite the slowdowns, Romania has reported major progress in
    the field of the judiciary, the report reads. The European Commission has made
    however a series of country-specific recommendations, which Bucharest must
    implement in order to see the CVM lifted. These include the implementation of a
    robust and independent system for appointing top-level prosecutors, the
    inclusion of clear provisions in the Code of Conduct for parliamentarians,
    which is currently being developed, including with regard to the mutual respect
    among institutions and making clear that parliamentarians should respect the
    independence of the judiciary. The Commission also recommends the full
    implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy. President Klaus
    Iohannis has hailed the fact that the Commission report acknowledges Romania’s
    progress and has warned against the concerns the report mentions with respect
    to the two draft emergency ordinances on collective pardon and amending the
    Criminal Code, which the government wants to pass.




    The collective pardon ordinance and the
    referendum


    The Government’s
    plans to adopt two emergency ordinances on granting collective pardon and
    amending the Criminal Code have prompted President Klaus Iohannis to launch
    procedures this week with respect to holding a referendum, whereby citizens can
    vote in favour or against continuing the fight against corruption and securing
    the integrity of public office. The Social-Democratic Party, the largest party
    in the current ruling coalition, claims the president’s decision is but a
    political ruse aimed at regaining popular support after opposition parties lost
    the legislative elections. The National Liberal Party and Save Romania Union
    have voiced their support for the President’s initiative. On Sunday, Klaus
    Iohannis took part in a large-scale protest held in Bucharest against the
    Government’s planned measures. Protests were also staged in other cities across
    the country. The government is suspected of trying to use these emergency
    ordinances to help corrupt people avoid prison sentences or partially
    decriminalise abuse of office. Instead, the Government claims the ordinances
    are needed to ease overcrowding in prisons and to harmonise the criminal law
    with Constitutional Court rulings.




    President Iohannis travels to Strasbourg


    Romania’s
    president Klaus Iohannis this week paid an official two-day visit to
    Strasbourg, where he discussed, among other things, about pardoning and amnesty
    with the President of the European Court of Human Rights, Guido Raimondi. The
    President told an ensuing press conference that no pressure or threats were
    made to hand Romania an 80-million-dollar fine with regard to overcrowding in
    Romania’s prisons. A pilot decision of the Court will be made public within the
    first half of 2017 and is expected to highlight the problems and set a deadline
    allowing Romania to come up with a solution. Pardoning, the president argues,
    is but one possible solution to this problem. On the other hand, according to a
    European Court of Human Rights report, Romania ranks 3rd, after
    Russia and Turkey, in terms of the highest number of convictions issued by the
    European Court of Human Rights, most of which refer to inadequate confinement
    conditions. The president of the European Court of Human Rights, Guido
    Raimondi, said these problems are recurrent and require complex measures.




    The Romanian Intelligence Service and
    parliamentary control


    The Romanian
    Intelligence Service (SRI) will adopt a code of professional conduct for its
    employees, which is to be published in the Official Journal over the next few
    days, the Romanian Intelligence Service chief Eduard Hellvig has announced. At
    the end of seven-hour-long hearings before Parliament’s Committee on the
    control of the SRI’s activity, Hellvig said the document would shed light on
    cases of incompatibilities affecting the relationship between intelligence
    officers and various politicians, public servants and business people. The
    Romanian Intelligence chief added that the institution he runs has been the
    target of unprecedented attacks this past week, but it would not be involved in
    power plays. The decision comes in the wake of a major scandal involving
    General Florian Coldea, who has served as Deputy First director of the Romanian
    Intelligence Service for 12 years. Former MP Sebastian Ghita, currently a
    fugitive wanted in a criminal investigation, made serious accusations against
    Coldea. Following an internal investigation, General Coldea was found innocent
    but he still decided to resign his position. SRI Chief Eduard Hellvig called on
    the President to placed him in the reserve.




    Romanian producer gets Oscar nomination


    Ada Solomon has
    this week become the first Romanian film producer ever nominated for the
    Academy Awards in the best foreign language film category, for the feature Toni Erdmann directed by Maren Ade of
    Germany. Shot in Romania for the most part, the feature is the only film of
    2016 to be included by BBC Culture among the 100 greatest films of the 21st
    century. Toni Erdmann premiered this
    year in Cannes, where it scooped the FIPRESCI International Film Critics’ award
    in the main competition.



  • The Romanian Intelligence Service and its parliamentary control

    The Romanian Intelligence Service and its parliamentary control

    The Romanian Intelligence Service will come up with a code of ethics to regulate the relationship between intelligence officers and parliamentarians, public officials and business people, said the director of the Service Eduard Hellvig at the end of Wednesdays 7-hour long hearings by the parliamentary committee for the control of the Services activity. He said the institution he runs has not been in any way involved in staging the street protests against the planned prison pardon and amendment of criminal codes held at the weekend.



    There has been a division in Romanian society in recent days and unprecedented attacks have been launched against the Romanian Intelligence Service, Eduard Hellvig has warned: “I have spoken about an interest to destabilise a powerful and reliable institution of the Romanian state. The Romanian Intelligence Service has the instruments, which have been validated in time, to defend itself and especially Romanias citizens. A weak, fearful and destabilised intelligence service means Romania is vulnerable to threats, which is not in the best interest of the Romanian state institutions or the Romanian people.



    The head of the Romanian Intelligence Service said that in a real democracy it is essential and fundamental for the intelligence services not to be omnipresent and omnipotent. On the other hand, he gave assurances that the Service has had no involvement in street protests or any other type of power games.



    Eduard Hellvig: “The Romanian Intelligence Service does not have, nor will it have, undercover officers in politics and justice. During my term in office, the Romanian Intelligence Service will not become involved in any power games. The Romanian Intelligence Service will not organise protests or any other street movements, as has erroneously been claimed in certain circles.



    The case of general Florian Coldea, who has recently been placed in the reserve, has also featured in the hearings. A former first-deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, Coldea did indeed travel on holidays abroad with the former Social Democratic MP Sebastian Ghita, as the latter claimed, but he provided evidence that he paid for his own expenses, said the head of the parliamentary committee for the control of the Services activity, Adrian Tutuianu. In the latters opinion, while the law was not broken, there is still the ethical aspect to be considered.



    Adrian Tutuianu: “We have at least an ethical problem when intelligence officers go on trips or are involved in this type of activities with members of the parliamentary committee for the control of the Romanian Intelligence Service, parliamentarians or business people.



    Adrian Tutuianu said the internal inquiry conducted by the Romanian Intelligence Service is not yet closed and that the former Social Democratic prime minister Victor Ponta, as well as Sebastian Ghita and Florian Coldea may still be called before the committee. (Translated by C Mateescu, edited by D. VIjeu)

  • January 17, 2017

    January 17, 2017

    ROMANIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE A special commission of the Romanian Intelligence Service has today announced that the analysis of the activity carried out by the first deputy-director Florian Coldea has revealed no elements that would constitute violations of laws or regulations in force. Florin Coldea was suspended last week, and his responsibilities were taken over by the director of the institution Eduard Hellvig, following accusations made by the former deputy Sebastian Ghita, who had accused Coldea of illegal activities. The executive board of the Romanian Intelligence Service has decided to put the first deputy director back in office. However, Coldea has asked to be released from office and placed at the disposal of the institution, invoking reasons that have to do with military dignity and honour. The Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service has asked Romanias President Klaus Iohannis to grant Coldea the reservist status.



    EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT The 751 Members of the European Parliament are electing in Strasbourg today their new president, who will replace the German Social-Democrat Martin Schulz. The election is going to be tight, given that the pro-European parties have not managed to find an agreement on a single candidate to represent them. Therefore, there are six politicians now running for the seat of president: three Italian, one Belgian, one British and one Romanian from the Eurosceptics group. The Romanian candidate is Laurentiu Rebega, vice-president of the Europe of Nations and Freedom group, co-presided by the French nationalist Marine Le Pen. The new president of the European Parliament will start working right after the validation of the voting. The 14 Vice-Presidents and 5 Quaestors will be elected tomorrow.



    BREXIT The British Prime-Minister Theresa May is to present in London today the list of Brexit priorities. Downing Street sources say that Mrs. May prefers a full divorce, rather than an agreement under which Great Britain would be half in half out of the EU. The British PM is thus very likely to announce that Great Britain will leave the single market, the European Customs Union and the European Court of Justice. She will also insist on the need for her country to sign its own trade agreements with the Commonwealth countries, the Asian giants and the US. Seven months after Britains historic vote in favour of the Brexit, Theresa May promises to start the exit procedure by the end of March. Negotiations with Brussels will last two years.



    MOLDOVA The new president of the Republic of Moldova, the pro-Russia socialist Igor Dodon, is today holding talks in Moscow with the Russian president Vladimir Putin. The Moldovan president wants to obtain the lifting of restrictions on the import of Moldovan agricultural products. Restrictions were imposed by Moscow in the aftermath of Moldovas signing an association agreement with the EU. The president also hopes that the status of the 500,000 Moldovan citizens working in Russia will be regulated. Another issue is that of Transdniestrs debt to Gazprom, standing at 4 billion dollars. The Transdniestr issue will be approached also against the background of the recent meeting between the president of Moldova and the new leader in Tiraspol Vadim Krasnoselski. Transdiestr came out of Chisinaus control in 1992, after an armed conflict that claimed hundreds of lives, settled by the intervention of the Russian troops on the separatists side.



    ATTACK The man who shot and killed 39 people on New Years in a club in Istanbul has been arrested in a neighborhood of the European part of the city. According to authorities, the perpetrator, an Uzbek aged 34, member of a terrorist cell in Central Asia, has admitted his guilt. Another four people have been detained in this case, a Kirghiz, the owner of the apartment he was caught in, and three women. More than half of the victims of the attack were foreign citizens, from Israel, India, Lebanon, France, Tunisia, Belgium, Kuwait and Canada. The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State organization, as an act of retaliation against Turkeys involvement in Syria.



    NATO The Romanian Army Chief of Staff Nicolae Ciuca is attending the proceedings of the 176th NATO Military Committee in Brussels. According to the Romanian Defense Ministry, the agenda of the meeting includes topics such as the Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and the recent threats against NATO. Also, sessions will be held devoted to NATOs partnerships with Ukraine and Georgia.



    AUSTRALIAN OPEN Two Romanian tennis players Monica Niculescu and Ana Bogdan have today lost matches in the first round of the Australian Opens singles. Niculescu was defeated 2-1 by the Russian Ana Blinkova and Bogdan lost 2-0 to Elena Vesnina, also from Russia. On Monday, in the inaugural round, Sorana Carstea beat 2-nil the Russian Irina Hromaceva, and Irina Begu defeated in three sets Iaroslava Svedova of Kazakhstan. Another two Romanian players have been eliminated. Simona Halep, number 4 in the WTA rankings, was surprisingly defeated by the American Shelby Rogers, ranked 57th in the same classification. Patricia Tig was eliminated by the Puerto Rican Monica Puig, in two sets.



  • Top-level Suspension in the Romanian Intelligence Service

    Top-level Suspension in the Romanian Intelligence Service

    The first deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, lieutenant general Florian Coldea, has practically been suspended from office and is subject to an internal investigation. The communiqué issued by the Romanian Intelligence Service, which has been given extensive coverage by the entire media, reads that following information circulated in the public space on lieutenant general Florian Coldea, and which make the object of a preliminary investigation, the director of the Romanian Intelligence Service ordered, in keeping with the current procedures, the setting up of a special commission to investigate possible law infringement and violations of deontological rules. To that aim, until the completion of the investigation, general Florian Coldea is suspended from office, and his prerogatives as first deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service will be taken over by the director of the Service, Eduard Hellvig.



    Pundits say the information circulated in the public space refers mainly to a series of accusations launched by the former MP Sebastian Ghiţă. In a video recording, broadcast by the TV channel he runs, Ghiţă claims to have spent his vacation together with the deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service and his wife, in the Seychelles. A controversial character, the former Social Democrat MP who later joined the ranks of a marginal, Euro-sceptical party, which failed to reach the necessary threshold to be represented in Parliament, Ghiţă is reported missing since the end of 2016. An arrest warrant has been issued on his name for corruption. Enjoying little credibility, Ghiţă is however trying to leave the impression of a vigilante. He says he will disclose information on people in the top management of the Romanian Intelligence Service and the National Anticorruption Directorate because, in his opinion, things are advancing in Romania at an increasingly fast pace towards a sort of terror that no one will be able to resist.



    Terror, dictatorship, police state, prosecutors’ republic; these are the favourite words used by the politicians who are suspected, investigated or accused of corruption, to whom Coldea and the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate, Laura Codruţa Kovesi, are the most detested and detestable public figures. Seemingly intangible for a long period of time, Coldea seems to be extremely vulnerable nowadays, and there are voices saying that he runs the risk of seeing his successful and bright career as an intelligence officer coming to an end, at the age of only 45. He became famous in 2005, when he coordinated the release of three Romanian journalists kidnapped in Iraq. The then president Traian Băsescu appointed him first deputy director of the Romanian Intelligence Service. This means that he has actually served as number one at operative level.



    Coldea has maintained his position for more than a decade, under the helm of three civil directors – Radu Timofte, George Maior and Eduard Hellvig – and remained the strongman of the Service, even after Basescu completed his term in office, being succeeded by Klaus Iohannis. Now, according to the pundits’ speculations, Coldea has become the victim of his own creation, because, they say, he was the one who invented Ghita, who allegedly enjoyed the support of the Intelligence Service to turn from a common IT specialist into a millionaire, the beneficiary of numerous contracts with the state, an influential politician and, as an MP, a member of the parliamentary committee which surveys the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service.

  • The Hexi Pharma Scandal

    The Hexi Pharma Scandal

    A large-scale scandal is now revealing how feeble the Romanian health-care sector is. Just a few weeks ago, a journalistic investigation showed how the concentration of disinfectants supplied by Hexi Pharma to health-care units all over the country was up to ten times lower than legally required. Such accusations are serious, given that patients’ lives really depend on how sterile operating rooms, instruments and wards are.



    Controls conducted in dozens of hospitals across the country have substantiated the conclusions of the journalistic investigations. The findings were so worrying that surgery was cancelled for days in some hospitals. Overwhelmed by the situation, the Health Minister resigned and the General Prosecutors’ Office started investigating Hexi Pharma, accused of carrying out activities running counter to disease prevention and counterfeiting.



    President Klaus Iohannis and PM Dacian Ciolos talked about the situation and decided the law on public procurement in the health-care sector had to be rapidly amended, so as to ensure a tighter control of products used in hospitals. Therefore, a standardization of such procurement would lead to equipping health-care units with materials that observe legal parameters and therefore do not put people’s lives in danger.



    As for how long such diluted disinfectants have been used in hospitals, the investigation conducted by the General Prosecutor’s Office will tell. The Romanian Intelligence Service claims that it has for five years sent notifications about the bad quality of the disinfectants used in hospitals to the presidency, the Prime Minister, ministers, prefects, county councils. The chairman of the parliamentary committee in charge of controlling the activity of the Romanian Intelligence Service, Georgian Pop, has announced he is to receive, in the coming days, a report on the notifications submitted to the legal beneficiaries, regarding hospital-acquired infections. Georgian Pop:



    “Which legal beneficiaries have been informed and for how long? These are the main elements of the investigation that is being conducted and it’s quite normal, because it is an issue of public interest. This negative and totally unwanted phenomenon is one of the Intelligence Service’s by-interests, because, after all, it’s a matter of people’s constitutional right to health, the phenomenon has been known and the legal beneficiaries have been informed.”



    Also in relation to this scandal, the National Judges Association has called on the Higher Council of the Magistracy to inform the Judicial Inspection Department about the way in which prosecutor’s offices across the country used the notifications submitted by the Romanian Intelligence Service regarding the use of diluted disinfectants in hospitals. And that because, judges say, the proper use of such information would have prevented thousands of Romanians from getting sick.


    (Translated by M. Ignatescu)

  • Romania – a safe country

    Romania – a safe country

    In a world faced with many security threats,
    Romania has not had to cope with any security problems, thanks to the Romanian
    Intelligence Service, which has ensured the security of Romanians, president
    Klaus Iohannis has said:




    Romania is a safe country, having been spared security incidents and terrorism threats.




    According to the 2015 activity
    report of the Romanian Intelligence Service, over 340 people who posed
    terrorist threats have been denied entry into the country or have been forced
    out of the country. Another 9,000 people have been red-flagged and banned entry
    into Romania. Over 3,800 notifications have been submitted to law-enforcement
    authorities and nearly 10,000 documents to decision-makers, all regarding
    potential security risks.




    On the other hand, president
    Iohannis highlighted the Romanian Intelligence Service’s key contribution to
    the fight against corruption:




    The Romanian Intelligence Service
    has had an important contribution in fighting corruption, which remains a
    delicate issue.




    The Romanian Intelligence Service has
    also contributed to efforts to combat tax evasion, organised crime and cyber
    crime, dealing with some 550 cyber threats. Last but not least, the Service is
    a respected and trusted partner of NATO’s intelligence network, contributing to
    consolidating Romania’s role as a provider of security in the region. Here is
    the director of the Romanian Intelligence Service, Eduard Hellvig:




    We are doing well, because we have
    prevented all potential terrorist attacks in Romania. We have constantly
    supported the judiciary in its efforts to combat top-level corruption. We have
    kept extremism and organised crime in check. We have built an adequate level of
    cyber security.




    And since there’s always room for
    improvement, Eduard Hellvig said the Service will continue to improve its
    activity:




    We are not perfect. There is still
    a lot to be done concerning the transparency of our activity, because there is
    still work to be done in terms of resource management.




    The Romanian Intelligence Service is
    expected to remain consistent in its actions and results. Against the backdrop
    of a growing terrorist threat in Europe, cooperation among intelligence
    services across Europe is of paramount importance. Given the deterioration of
    the security context in the Middle East and the shift in Balkan migration
    routes, Romania must be ready to face a potential migration risk, also keeping
    an eye on security challenges in the East, such as Russia’s aggression, the
    instability in Ukraine and the lack of predictability of the Republic of
    Moldova. On a domestic level, the Service has the crucial duty to safeguard the
    rule of law and to fight corruption, while respecting citizen’s rights and
    liberties. The legislation in the field of national security also needs
    reforming, a process the authorities are unwilling to delay any further.

  • Reactions and Measures against Terrorism

    Reactions and Measures against Terrorism

    Experts had warned that the Catholic Easter, celebrated on Sunday, only five days after the carnage in Brussels, was for Jihadists a good opportunity to strike again. What was unexpected was the target. This time it was not Europe, already at risk due to its Christian majority, but Pakistan that fell victim, a country where Christians account for a very small minority. More than 70 people were killed and several hundreds wounded in the city of Lahore, in a park where Catholic believers were celebrating Jesus’ Resurrection. A faction of the Pakistani Taliban movement has claimed the attack.



    Just like most of the other political leaders, President Klaus Iohannis has conveyed Romanians’ condolences and sympathy to the Pakistani people and the victims’ families. Both the Romanian presidency and Foreign Ministry have once again stressed that Romania firmly condemns such attacks and stays committed to the international fight against terrorism. Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has stated that in Romania terrorist threats exist, but they are properly contained. In an interview to a private TV station, Ciolos said that domestic intelligence services need to be provided with the necessary tools for them to be able to properly monitor threats, without affecting transparency and citizens’ rights.



    The Prime Minister pleaded for a more rigorous control of PrePay phone cards, which in Romania can be purchased without having to provide any ID, and also said that the issue was being examined by the Justice and Interior Ministers. Prime Minister Ciolos has said he’s been informed about the fact that PrePay cards purchased in Romania were used in preparing attacks in other EU member countries. The Romanian Intelligence Service has stated it can provide no information regarding terrorists who may have used such cards to prepare terrorist attacks.



    However, the Service has mentioned the fact that the use of such non-nominal phone cards issued by Romanian phone operators in conflict areas, including Syria and Iraq, is a well-known fact. Since the identity of the people using them cannot be established, such cards may be used by both Romanian citizens residing in those conflict areas, but also by people connected to terrorist entities, the Service has also stated, in a communiqué issued at the media’s request.



    What is clear is that in Bucharest, voices pleading for a regulation of the way in which such phone cards are purchased have grown in number, just like those warning that, in the name of the fight against terror, special services may be tempted to intrude into peaceful citizen’s private lives.


    (Translated by M. Ignatescu)


  • Reactions to the Terrorist Attacks in Brussels

    Reactions to the Terrorist Attacks in Brussels

    Sharm el-Sheikh, Beirut, Paris, Bamako,
    San Bernardino and Ankara are cities on four different continents targeted by
    Jihadists in less than six months. Hundreds of people have been killed in these
    attacks. Brussels, the European Union’s administrative capital and the host of
    the NATO headquarters was too the site of a bloodshed on Tuesday. In November,
    when for fear of such attacks the Belgian authorities had raised the terrorist
    alert to the maximum level and the army started patrolling the streets on
    armored vehicles, there were voices, dubbed as alarmist at the time, who
    warned that it was only a matter of time until the city would be attacked.

    It
    was also in November that the European media accused Belgian authorities of
    having allowed the setting up of a genuine Jihadist neighborhood in Brussels,
    the infamous Molenbeek. Disturbed people, grounding their criminal actions on
    religious reasons, were already at the heart of Europe. Pundits had warned about
    the threat of a so-called Islamic
    spring in Western Europe, which they saw as more vulnerable than ever.
    Unfortunately, Tuesday’s carnage confirmed their fears. The civilized world has
    once again been gripped by suffering, disbelieve and anger.

    Belgium’s ally
    within NATO, its EU partner and colleague in the Francophone movement, Romania
    shares this country’s grief. Over 30,000 Romanian citizens are currently living
    in Brussels and the surrounding areas and at least four of them were injured in
    the blasts at the airport and metro station. Against this background, Romanian
    President Klaus Iohannis, currently on an official visit to Turkey, has said
    that terrorism can be fought against by making efforts for peace and
    solidarity:


    Klaus Iohannis: These
    attacks must be countered with our strong will for peace, collaboration and
    solidarity in working out the big problems facing the region in which both
    Romanian and Turkish people live.


    A crisis
    management team of the Romanian Foreign Ministry is constantly in touch with
    Belgian authorities and a mobile consular team has traveled to Brussels to join
    the embassy staff. Foreign Minister Lazar Comanescu has announced that Romania
    is ready to assist Belgium. Comanescu has insisted on the need for solidarity
    within the EU. In Bucharest, additional security staff have been deployed in
    airports and at the headquarters of diplomatic missions, although the terrorist
    alert level has not been raised.

    The Romanian Intelligence Service chief,
    Eduard Helvig, has said in a news conference that there is no intelligence
    leading to a direct connection between the attacks in Brussels and threats to
    Romania’s national security. Hellvig has warned, however, that the events in
    Belgium do affect Romanians, as terrorism has become a global threat.

    The
    president of the Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee Georgian Pop has said: Unfortunately we are in a very
    complicated situation. What has happened in
    Brussels, but also in Paris, Ankara and
    Istanbul, have not been isolated events. They were carefully planned,
    cascade-based attacks. At present, in Romania, the Intelligence Service and the
    terrorist attacks prevention system have managed to maintain the caution-blue
    alarm level, which means a relatively low threat level. Keeping it that way
    involves a great deal of work.


    Romania’s Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, a former European Commissioner for Agriculture, who lived in Brussels many years, has
    voiced his compassion for the victims of the attacks and conveyed a message of
    support for the Belgian authorities.



  • The Romanian Intelligence Service and Technical Surveillance

    The Romanian Intelligence Service and Technical Surveillance

    The Romanian Government has adopted the emergency ordinance under which surveillance in criminal cases may be conducted, but not by the Romanian Intelligence Service. The document had been endorsed by the country’s Higher Defense Council, summoned by President Klaus Iohannis for an extraordinary session. The ordinance was drafted following the Constitutional Court’s ruling of February 16th, under which the Romanian Intelligence Service is no longer allowed to conduct technical surveillance in relation to criminal cases. The prosecutor offices’ activity would have been seriously affected or even put to a halt, according to the ordinance’s motivation. Klaus Iohannis has stated that this is the first stage, in which the ordinance provides a solution for the judicial bodies. Subsequently, Parliament may also consider other solutions.



    President Klaus Iohannis: “There are voices saying that, in the absence of the necessary technical infrastructure for special surveillance activities, the activity of prosecutor’s offices would be affected, both with regard to criminal prosecution as such, and to the rules of evidence. This emergency ordinance is a response to this very concern. The Higher Defense Council has endorsed this draft and the Government will adopt it as a solution, temporary as it may be, to an issue that is concerning both state institutions and the public opinion.”



    Klaus Iohannis has also said that the Constitutional Court’s ruling must be observed and harmonized with the legislation in force. According to the head of state, another important aspect is the need to maintain the legislative framework functional, for the judiciary to do their job, be they cases of national security or corruption. Given that the only infrastructure specializing in tapping phone calls belongs to the Romanian Intelligence Service, the Government had to find a solution for that infrastructure to be used without involving any of the Service’s staff and with the exclusive involvement of the criminal investigation bodies.



    Romanian Justice Minister Raluca Pruna: “We only have a single type of infrastructure capable of enforcing surveillance warrants, and this structure belongs to the Romanian Intelligence Service. With this ordinance we came up with an immediate solution that would prevent criminal prosecution from being interrupted.”



    The emergency ordinance has the power of law, Raluca Pruna also said. The heads of the National Anticorruption Directorate and of the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism, DIICOT, respectively have announced, given the new circumstances, they will need additional staff and funds to be able to conduct surveillance operations using their own resources, and the pace of building cases might slow down in the coming period.

  • March 10, 2016

    March 10, 2016

    MEETING – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis is today meeting the president of the Palestinian Authority Mahmud Abbas. Iohannis on Sunday started a tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories. In Jerusalem, the president had talks with his counterpart, Reuven Rivlin, with Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu and with Knesset Speaker Yuli-Yoel Edelstein. Additionally, Klaus Iohannis visited the Wailing Wall and met with representatives of the Romanian-born Israeli community.



    DEFENCE – The Romanian Intelligence Service has said that the Constitutional Court ruling will have a certain impact on national security, given the connection between preventing threats to national security and combating organized crime. Recently the Constitutional Court has ruled against the constitutional character of an article in the Criminal Procedure Code allowing the Romanian Intelligence Service and other secret service agencies to phone-tap people investigated by anti-corruption prosecutors. The Court claims that the Romanian Intelligence Service has no remit in criminal investigations. Romanian Intelligence chief Eduard Hellvig said that crimes such as acts of espionage and treason, terrorism, cross-border organized crime, counterproliferation, cyber crime, and, last but not least, acts of corruption, which are all serious threats to national security, will no longer be handled using technical equipment used by the Romanian Intelligence Service. Eduard Hellvig believes that the ruling will also affect a series of court cases, particularly those dealing with threats to national security. The countrys Superior Defence Council is to convene in an emergency meeting on Friday to address the effects of the Constitutional Court ruling on wiretapping.



    MILITARY – Some 130 military from the Republic of Moldova and the United States are these days taking part in the 2016 Agile Hunter joint military exercise. Hosted by the Training Centre of the Moldova Motorized Infantry Brigade in Balti, the exercise is aimed at approaching hybrid warfare threats, as well as boosting cooperation with foreign partners. The drills will end on March 19, and are part of a training programme running for four years. Moldovan Defence Minister Anatol Salaru has recently said cooperation with NATO member states, including Romania, will contribute to expanding Moldovas military experience, given the high security risks in the region.



    JHA – Justice and Home Affairs Ministers of EU Member States are today meeting in Brussels. The main point on the agenda is migration. The Justice and Home Affairs Council will look at progress reported with respect to the European Commissions December recommendation to modify the Schengen border code, which provides for setting up a European Border Watch. In another development, the Hungarian Government today declared a “state of crisis against the backdrop of increasing migration flows on its territory, as a reaction to the harsher rules introduced by others states confronted with large numbers of immigrants. On Wednesday, Macedonia closed down its border with Greece, after Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia announced new border restrictions. Thousands of immigrants are blocked on the Macedonian border and over 1,000 are in a camp on the Serbian border.



    HANDBALL – The Romanian womens team on Wednesday defeated the defending European, world and Olympic champions Norway on home turf, 25-20, in a match counting towards preliminary Group 1 of the European Championship due in December. The return leg will be played on Sunday in Stavanger. Following this result, Romania, bronze medallist at the World Championships of 2015 and coached by Swedish Tomas Ryde, has largely secured its qualification, ranking first in the group tables after three matches. Norway is ranked 2nd, followed by Belarus and Lithuania. Romania will also take part in the pre-Olympic tournament in Aarhus, Denmark, scheduled for March 18-20, alongside the host country, Uruguay and Montenegro.



    FILM – “Son of Saul, the recipient of this years Oscar award for best foreign language film and featuring Romanian actor Levente Molnar, is premiered on Friday in Romania. “Son of Saul is the debut film of filmmaker Laszlo Nemes and has scooped numerous international awards. The film tells the story of a Jewish prisoner in Hungary, forced to work for the Nazis at the Auschwitz gas chambers. While working in one of the furnaces, Saul discovers the body of a boy he suspects to be his own son, and embarks on an impossible journey, wanting to save the body from cremation and to give the boy a proper funeral. Levente Molnar, an actor with the State Theatre in Cluj Napoca, plays Sauls best friend in the film.


    (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • April 16, 2015 UPDATE

    April 16, 2015 UPDATE

    We must ensure that the new Parliament will fully cooperate with the Judiciary, the President of Romania Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday. The head of state, who announced a new round of talks with the parliamentary parties on Monday, has repeatedly criticised the attitude of MPs, who dismissed several requests by anti-corruption prosecutors concerning the prosecution, arrest or detention of Senators and Deputies. This will be the third round of consultations between the President and the Parliamentary parties since he took over the office on December the 21st.



    The Romanian PM Victor Ponta Thursday categorically dismissed what he called “threats” and “criticism” from some Russian officials, and warned that this will not intimidate or prompt strategy changes in Bucharest. The statement comes after the chief of staff of the Russian army, Valery Gherasimov, said the states hosting components of the American missile defence system, like Romania and Poland, become primary targets for Russia’s military actions. Meanwhile, the former chief of the Romanian Intelligence Service, George Cristian Maior, denounced what he called “Russia’s silent war” against the West. Maior, who headed the Intelligence Service for 8 years, until January 2015, said Romania was one of the targets of Russian cyber-attacks, alongside the US, Germany, Estonia, Ukraine and Georgia. They were part of a wider range of operations against Western states, which also includes the funding of political parties, the opening of pro-Russian blogs and websites, the manipulation of social networks and the use of influence agents. All these serve the goal of getting Russia’s presumed enemies out of the game through misinformation and dissension, Maior also said.



    The Romanian Foreign Minister, Bogdan Aurescu, had a working meeting on Thursday with the group of Latin American and Carribean ambassadors to Bucharest. During the talks with diplomats from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, the participants looked at bilateral relations, regional developments and the relations between the EU and the countries in Latin America and the Carribean. The meeting occasioned a useful exchange of opinions on the means to diversify Romania’s cooperation with the countries in that region, says a news release issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry.



    The members of Romania’s Fed Cup team urged the Romanians living in Canada to come to Montreal to support them in the game against the Canadian team, due on Saturday and Sunday. Romania will be represented in Montreal by Irina-Camelia Begu, Alexandra Dulgheru, Andreea Mitu and Raluca Olaru. The best Romanian player at the moment, world no. 3 Simona Halep, decided not to play this weekend, because of her busy schedule in individual tournaments in Europe.